Unlimited Justice, Part 2
by The Incredible Muffin
Summary: Though the Light's plans have been foiled, the Team isn't done yet. New threats loom on the horizon, darker and more terrible than they can possibly imagine, and the Light still schemes. Now, more than ever, the world needs heroes. (Discontinued) STORY HAS BEEN ADOPTED BY CHIDORIPRIME. Story will remain up, but still adopted.
1. Obsession, Part 1

**BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY OC'S BELONG TO ME, AND SINCE I'VE FINALLY GIVEN THEM A RAISE, THEY LIKE ME ENOUGH TO STAY.**

**Hi, guys! Once again, I'm back to continue my Ben 10/DC crossover series. Remember, if you don't recall everything that happened in Part 1, you should go back and read it again, because I don't want to waste a bunch of time describing all of the characters again. **

**Now, I know that it hasn't been **_**that **_**long since I ended Unlimited Justice, Part 1, but lately, I've been getting plenty of ideas. Be prepared for a ton of original content, as wells as modified stuff, as is my custom.**

**Let's not delay this any longer; enjoy the story!**

Unlimited Justice, Part 2

Chapter 1

Obsession, Part 1

**Wayne Manor, January 5, 09:32 EST**

Though few knew it, the stately Wayne Manor had some of the most advanced security systems on Earth, far more than even a reclusive billionaire like Bruce Wayne would need. Of course, Bruce Wayne was far more than a billionaire; he was Batman, the Dark Knight.

Most importantly, however, was that he had a family, one that he would spare no expense to protect.

Granted, his wife, Diana Wayne, was more than capable of defending herself; she was Wonder Woman, Princess of the Amazons, and her abilities were only outclassed by a handful of superheroes.

If Bruce were to admit it, he would say that his home's defenses were less to protect his wife, and more to protect the people who _didn't _have superhuman abilities, or at least, abilities as powerful as Wonder Woman's. There was Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl, now confined to a wheelchair, along with Alfred, the family's loyal butler. The more capable residents of the house were Jason Todd, the current Robin, and his Tamaranean girlfriend, Koriand'r, also known as Starfire, who had practically moved in a few weeks earlier.

And then there were the children; Damian Wayne, Bruce's only biological child, the one he'd had with Diana, and the newest adopted Wayne, Cassandra Cain. Both had excellent skills, but they had only just turned eleven yesterday—no one knew Cassandra's birthday, so Damian had asked if she wanted to share his, to which she'd nodded—and had almost no crime-fighting experience.

It had been for the sake of those who couldn't defend themselves that Bruce had turned his already impressive security into a system that would make even the Secret Service blush. Bruce could count the number of people who could sneak past his security on one hand, and still have fingers left over.

Unfortunately, one of those people was leading the way for a small team to infiltrate the manor.

…

Talia al Ghul was arguably one of the most dangerous beings on the planet. While her perfect face, long dark-brown hair and hourglass figure that seemed to be poured into a partially-unzipped black bodysuit were all excellent tools with which to distract men—and some women—there were few who knew how to kill someone with just their bare hands in more ways than her.

Today, however, Talia and the four men accompanying her would not be killing anyone if it could be avoided. If someone within the manor died, then Talia's plan would almost certainly fail, and despite being almost immortal, she had waited too many years to fail now.

Half of Talia's plan had required luck to be on her side; she needed an opportunity where there would be as few people within the manor as possible, and Bruce Wayne had to be on a long-term assignment. Fortunately, Batman was helping Green Arrow on a case in Star City, and her people had confirmed that most of the Bat-Clan was elsewhere.

The only people inside the manor were the butler and the primary target. Talia supposed that if the primary target wasn't there and the secondary targets were, she could simply go after them instead, but she wanted the secondary's to come to her willingly.

Besides, Talia's revenge wouldn't be complete without the primary target.

Talia nodded at her men, then pulled out a small device from her belt. It was disk-shaped, with a single button on one side; each of her men held out an identical device, and all five of them pressed the button at the same time. The button began to pulse with a red light.

"We're now invisible to all security devices for fifteen minutes," Talia said quietly, "We have that long to get the target and get out."

The men nodded; with a short running start, Talia clambered over the walls ringing the Wayne property, her team right behind her.

_To hell with Father's orders, _she thought savagely, _I am claiming what is rightfully mine._

…

Diana sighed as she leaned back in her chair; she rarely got time off from her role as Wonder Woman, and now that she had some, she wasn't sure what to do with it.

Alfred had just returned from dropping off Damian and Cassandra at their school; it was Cassandra's first day at a public school, but because she couldn't—or wouldn't—speak, Bruce had sent a letter to the principal, asking that the teachers not call on her in class. However, this left Diana all alone, save for Alfred. Bruce was in Star City, Dick and Tim were fighting crime in Blüdhaven, Barbara was spending time with her father, the now-retired Commissioner James Gordon, and Jason and Kory were at their own school, and would head to the Cave as soon as they were done.

Normally, Diana would have headed to the Watchtower, but after the incident with Vandal Savage having control over her—something that made her skin crawl—and the rest of the Justice League, a lot of Leaguers had taken a few days off to come to terms with it. Diana had just wanted to forget about it and get on with her life, but Bruce had convinced her to rest for a while; trying _not _to think about it would only make the thoughts worse. She had tried to refuse, but then her husband had played dirty and convinced Damian and Cassandra to hit her with those big, watery eyes that children could make appear on their faces, something that Diana could never say no to.

Of course, this now left Diana very alone; she missed having her family around, especially her youngest children. Damian was a wonderful son that Diana couldn't help but hug every time she saw him, and even though Cassandra had only been adopted into the Wayne family for a few months, she'd already become the baby daughter that Diana had always wanted.

Diana didn't know if she was being a loving mother or a clingy one, but Damian and Cassandra had been gone for less than an hour, and she already missed them terribly. The only reason she had even considered letting them go to a public school was that records showed that Vandal Savage hadn't deigned to learn any of the heroes' secret identities when he was controlling them, so Damian and Cassandra weren't in any danger.

With another sigh, she stood up to fetch a book that sat on top of her nightstand; she'd been meaning to finish it for weeks, and it would help put her mind at ease. She picked up the book from where it lay next to her Wonder Woman tiara, then shivered from a sudden chill.

She briefly weighed the option of either turning up the heat, or changing clothes—white slacks and a red blouse—when a thought occurred to her: with a house so well-designed, where was a chill coming from? Diana turned to see that her door had opened without her notice.

There was barely time to become suspicious before a dart hit her in the right shoulder; immediately, she could feel a creeping numbness, and then her arm was immobile seconds later.

Raising her left arm, Diana rushed to the door, determined to meet her attackers, as well as shout for Alfred to raise the alarm. Before she opened her mouth, however, a fist caught her in the throat, the glove around it laced with Nth-Metal. Because her abilities—indeed, her very birth—originated from magic, the blow hurt; more importantly, it stopped her from shouting.

A shadowy figure rolled into the room and raised a tube to its mouth; a moment later, another dart hit Diana in the right leg. She leapt at the figure, but the sedative was already affecting her faculties, and she tripped; her leg was immobilized before she could think about getting up. Though her vision was blurry, she could make out four more people enter her room, three of whom were armed with blowguns. A foot lashed out, knocking Diana onto her back; two more darts hit her, in her other leg and arm.

With Diana completely helpless, she could only watch as the blurry image of a woman walked up to her. That woman reached down and picked Diana up by the hair.

"Weak," she sneered, and Diana thought she was familiar somehow, "How he could choose someone like you is a mystery I shall never solve."

Before Diana could try to speak, the woman jammed another dart into her neck. She felt a brief spike of pain when the woman threw her to the floor, and then there was only darkness.

…

Talia sneered down at the unconscious woman. Taking the oh-so-mighty Wonder Woman down was child's play, all thanks to the element of surprise and enough sedatives to kill two bull elephants.

"Secure her," she ordered two of her men, then glanced at a third, "Stay alert for the butler."

The two men barely had time to place an inhibitor-collar around Diana's neck when the lookout made a warning gesture and silently closed the door. Talia pulled a silver rod from her belt and held it to her lips. A moment later, there was a knock on the door, and a refined British voice could be heard.

"Mistress Diana?" Alfred asked through the door, "Are you all right? I thought I heard something."

When Talia spoke, the device in her hand made her sound exactly like the woman she loathed. "I'm fine, Alfred, just knocked over some books by accident. I'm a little tired right now, so I'm going to get some rest, and I'd prefer not to be disturbed; when Damian and Cassandra get home, though, could you send them here please?"

"Of course," Alfred said, and Talia had no trouble imagining the man giving a short bow before he left.

Once they were sure the butler was gone, Talia and her team began the process of leaving with their captive, but not before leaving a message behind.

Talia had waited decades to fulfill her destiny, but twelve years ago, she had decided to take matters into her own hands. Her father would disapprove of her actions, but she was long past caring, as were her followers. Besides, Ra's had betrayed her first.

_To hell with the League of Shadows, _Talia thought savagely, as she drew a knife to apply the finishing touch to the message, _it is time for the League of Assassins to take its rightful place in the world._

…

**Wayne Manor, 15:30 EST**

"Thanks for the ride, Alfred!" Damian said as he and Cassandra got out of the car; for her part, Cassandra gave the butler a small smile.

Alfred nodded with a smile of his own. "Of course, Master Damian. However, your mother has asked that you and Mistress Cassandra see her in her room. Do be quiet when entering, she said that she was very tired today."

"Sure, no problem!" Damian grabbed Cassandra's hand and pulled her after him, both of them very happy with how their day had ended.

At first, Damian had been nervous about how his new sister would react in school; more importantly, he worried about how the other kids would react to Cassandra. While she had picked up understanding what people were saying quite a bit over the last few weeks, there had been some concern that she would be picked on by the other students for being 'weird'. Damian had anticipated several trips to the principal's office for hitting bullies who messed with Cassandra.

Thankfully, nothing had happened. The teachers had been told that the newest Wayne had had some issues in the past, resulting in extreme shyness; that explained why she wouldn't talk, and it was actually a vague truth. From a medical examination conducted after Damian had found her, Cassandra had been faced with malnourishment and had been restrained for some time; there had also been emotional abuse, if the lack of understanding of speech was anything to go by. Fortunately for Cassandra, she now lived in a home filled with people who cared for her, including a loving mother, friendly older brothers and a sister, and a best friend/foster twin. Even Bruce had affectionately ruffled the girl's hair when she smiled at him.

If the slight bounce in Cassandra's step was anything to go by, she was happy to be back home; she loved being in the family, but there was just a hint of extra enthusiasm whenever she got a hug from Diana. She had gone more than nine hours without one of those hugs, and was looking forward to making up for lost time.

The youngest Waynes ran up to their parents' bedroom, their training allowing them to run almost completely silent. Damian grabbed the doorknob.

"Mom, Alfred said you wanted to see… us…"

Damian trailed off as he opened the door; his instincts had been screaming that something was wrong the second he began turning the knob, but it wasn't until he saw the inside of the room that he knew what.

The knocked-over chair was a clue, as was the askew rug at the foot of the bed. The big giveaway, though, was Wonder Woman's tiara, which hung on the handle of a bloodstained knife that pinned a note to the wall.

Rather than run for the knife, Damian and Cassandra fell back into their training, their eyes, ears, and noses checking for anything that might suggest a trap. When nothing popped, they walked up to the note; Cassandra took the tiara and clutched it in her hands, while Damian ripped the knife from the wall and read the note.

_To the children of the Batman,_

_We have taken Wonder Woman. If you want her to remain alive, you will come to the coordinates on the back of this note. You will come alone. If any sign of Batman or the Justice League is detected, or if you fail to arrive before midnight, the hostage dies._

Damian felt cold sweat on his neck. His mother had been kidnapped? How, and by who? Should he call a member of the Bat-Clan? Could he risk his mother's life by disobeying the terms on the note?

Cassandra took the note and read it; her eyes went wide as she looked at Damian. Both children were shaking; though Gotham was a dangerous city, their home had always felt safe, and their parents had always seemed invincible.

"What do we do?" Damian whispered, "If these guys were good enough to catch Mom…"

Cassandra only shrugged; she was just as unsure as Damian.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance?" Alfred's voice said from behind them; they whirled around to see the butler entering the room, eyeing the scene with a grim calm. He gently took the note from Cassandra and read it; once done, he nodded.

"Well, this is certainly not good," he said.

"Not good?" Damian repeated, "Not good!? Mom was _kidnapped_, of course that's not good! We need to do something and get her back!"

Alfred held out a hand to stop Damian's tirade. "Of course we do, Master Damian, but as the note said, if Batman or the Justice League interferes, Mistress Diana will die."

"So we'll go alone," Damian snapped, "Come on, Cassandra, we can use those costumes from a couple months ago—"

"You're overlooking something important, young sir," Alfred interrupted, "The note says that the _Justice League _cannot interfere, and I certainly cannot allow you two to mount a rescue by yourselves. Think for a moment—is there _no other _team of superheroes that can assist you? A team, perhaps, that is suited for missions such as these, and has a history of going behind the League's back?"

Damian blinked, then looked at Cassandra, who nodded.

"Can you call them?" Damian asked Alfred, "If we're going to do this, we still need to get changed."

Alfred smiled. "Of course. While you're gone, I'll be sure to clean up this mess, as well."

…

**Unknown Location**

Cheshire kneeled in front of the leader of the League of Shadows. "You summoned me, Great One?"

Ra's al Ghul nodded. "A situation has developed, one that displeases both myself and the Light. You will correct that."

Cheshire normally would have smiled, but there was something in Ra's' tone that suggested more was going on.

"What happened?" she asked.

Ra's scowled. "My daughter, Talia, has betrayed me. She and a group within the League of Shadows have formed their own force, the League of Assassins. They have kidnapped Wonder Woman, thus breaking a promise I made to a man I respect."

Cheshire tilted her head. "Isn't getting rid of Wonder Woman a good thing?"

"Normally, yes," Ra's agreed, "but the Light needs the Justice League—_all _of the League—unharmed for the time being. Aside from that, Talia has some knowledge of the Light's plans, and that cannot be discovered by the heroes.

"In order to keep our secrets, and restore my honor, your task is to find my daughter… and _end _her."

Cheshire could feel a cold sweat break out on the back of her neck. "Um, no disrespect, but Talia's not an easy mark. I'm good, but I can't fight her alone."

Now, Ra's smiled. "My dear, I never said that you would. The Light cannot afford to spend many resources on this endeavor, but thankfully, there are others who can.

"How do you feel about a trip home?"

It took only a second for Cheshire to realize what Ra's was implying, and smiled. "Well, I _do _need to visit Mom. I suppose I can make time."

…

**Mount Justice, 15:53 EST**

For the group of young covert-ops heroes known simply as the Team, it had been a slow day. Half of them weren't even at their base, the Cave; they were with their mentors, either on patrol or training.

The Team's leader was tapping his foot anxiously as he stood in front of the Cave's teleporters. Ken Tennyson, or Ken 10, had been discussing any ways that the Team could find out more information on Vandal Savage's group, the Light, or what happened to seven Leaguers—including his mother, Supergirl—during a sixteen-hour period where they were unaccounted for, when Robin had gotten an urgent message from the Batcave. Robin had then gone to the Team's leader, and Ken had gathered the members present.

Besides Ken and Robin, the only others available were Starfire, Raven, Artemis and Superboy. With Wonder Woman's life at stake, Ken would have preferred having as many teammates as possible, but if the kidnappers were able to get in and out of Wayne Manor undetected, Ken didn't want to risk the chance that the Cave had already been compromised.

There was a flash of light, and then Damian and Cassandra appeared on the teleporter pad. The former was wearing a black-and-gray bodysuit, along with black gloves and boots, a short cape and a double-diamond mask over his eyes. Cassandra had a completely black outfit, save for the silver eyepieces on her mask, and the gray Bat-symbol on her chest; every inch of skin was covered, including her mouth, so there was no way to tell what she was feeling by facial expressions.

Both of them were tense, that much was obvious; one of Damian's fists was clenched around a piece of paper, while Cassandra was holding Wonder Woman's tiara.

Without a word, Damian shoved the note at Ken, who took it gingerly.

"We'll get her back," Ken said, "I promise."

"Of course you will," Damian said, "Because we're going with you to make sure of it."

Robin smirked and ruffled his foster brother's hair. "Come on, D, let's get to work."

"Robin, Raven, Damian, come with me," Ken said, walking off, "Artemis, Superboy, get Ship and as much gear as you can; I want us to be ready to go five minutes ago."

He glanced at Cassandra, then at Starfire. "Star, can you…?"

Starfire nodded, then gently wrapped an arm around Cassandra's shoulders. "Come, Cassandra, I will make you a smoothie while we wait for the others to find your mother. Then we will punish those responsible."

Cassandra nodded, though it was uncertain which sentence she agreed with; she did allow Starfire to lead her to the Cave's kitchen. While there, Starfire noticed that though Cassandra was petting Wolf, who had woken up when the two girls entered the room, she hadn't let go of the tiara with one hand.

At the other side of the Cave, Ken was looking at a holo-globe with Robin and Damian, examining the coordinates from the note. Cassandra could have helped, but her inability to speak—and lack of Miss Martian to establish a psychic link—made communicating with her difficult.

Raven sat in a corner of the room, her eyes glowing with black light as she stared at the note.

"What's she doing?" Damian asked.

"Seeing if she can read the emotions left behind by the person who left the note," Robin said, not looking up from the computer, "Now, let's see where this is… oh, crud."

The coordinates from the note showed an oil rig, in the water between Florida and Cuba. Ken looked at Robin with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you know that place?"

Robin sighed. "Yeah, Batman and I checked it out a couple years back; it's owned by a shell company that belongs to Ra's al Ghul."

Ken scowled. "So we're dealing with the League of Shadows. Freaking great."

"Maybe not," Raven said, her eyes returning to normal, "The feelings I'm getting from this note… there's anger, despair, jealousy, that doesn't seem like the Shadows. Aren't they professional and stuff?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah, that doesn't seem like their usual attitude. I know that Ra's and Batman don't get along, but I heard that they had some kind of truce going on; they wouldn't attack each other directly, even though Ra's knows Batman's identity, and probably ours, he's got some honor. Going after Wonder Woman to get to Damian and Cassandra, two kids—no offense, D—isn't his style."

"Maybe someone who works for Ra's, but also has a serious hate for Batman?" Ken suggested, "Still, Ra's couldn't have told too many people who Batman is, so how did—"

"Ken!" Artemis shouted as she ran into the room, Superboy right behind her, "We have a situation!"

"Another one?" Ken asked, exasperated, "Okay, we might have to risk getting the rest of the Team. Raven, make a portal—"

"No, this is related," Artemis interrupted, then held up her cell phone. "I just got a call from Cheshire; she says she knows who's behind all this, and that she wants to help."

"No way she just did it out of the goodness of her heart," Ken said, crossing his arms.

Superboy scowled. "I heard the conversation, Ken. Ra's al Ghul proposed a truce between us and the Shadows to stop these guys and save Wonder Woman; apparently, the Shadows were betrayed."

Ken glanced at Robin. "Sense of honor, huh? Okay, this is the only lead we've got, and we'll have to make it quick, time isn't on our side."

Artemis bit her lip. "There's one more thing, Ken. It's Cheshire… she's at my house."

…

**Gotham City, 16:16 EST**

In a flash of light, the Team, along with Wolf, Ship, Sphere, Damian and Cassandra teleported into Artemis' home, ready to fight if necessary.

It turned out that it _wasn't _necessary, if the scene of Cheshire and Artemis' mother, Paula, drinking tea at the table was anything to go by. Cheshire had her mask on the table, next to the newspaper, idly sipping her tea, not even looking at the new arrivals.

"Hello, Artemis," Paula said with a bemused smile, "I thought you'd be out later tonight."

While most of the heroes had relaxed minutely when it seemed that they weren't about to be attacked, Artemis still had an arrow aimed at her sister's head.

"Get away from her, Mom," she hissed, "I have a few scores to settle."

"Oh, relax," Paula said, rolling her eyes as she pushed her wheelchair to the sink, "Jade already told me why she's here. It's a ceasefire, and she's already sworn not to start anything while here; don't worry about her planting bugs, I haven't let her out of my sight."

"It's true," Cheshire said, "For someone who's been out of the game for so long, Mom's still pretty good at this."

Reluctantly, Artemis lowered her bow. "Fine, we're here, let's get this over with."

Ken tapped her on the shoulder and whispered, "You sure you can handle working with her?"

Artemis shot him a hard look. "Are _you _sure we can trust her?"

Ken flicked a glance at Raven, who nodded; she'd been monitoring Cheshire's emotions the entire time, and while thoughts could be hidden from a telepath, it was almost impossible to hide intentions from an empath.

"You want to help us rescue Wonder Woman?" Ken asked Artemis' sister.

"No," Cheshire said, looking serious at last, "_Ra's al Ghul _wants to help you rescue Wonder Woman. My only job is to help you get there and take down the Shadow traitors. They call themselves the League of Assassins, and they're led by Talia al Ghul."

Robin blanched. "Ra's' daughter? I thought she was his biggest supporter!"

Cheshire shrugged. "I'm not sure when it started, or why, but Talia's been pretty distant from most of the Shadows for the last few years. I'd say she's got about a hundred guys, maybe a metahuman or two for extra muscle. We get the rest of your team and mount an assault, then I—"

"Stop right there," Ken said, holding up a hand, "You don't get to give us orders. Here's the deal: Talia will kill Wonder Woman the second she sees a superhero, so an all-out assault is out of the question. We go in quiet, disable their security, rescue Wonder Woman, then call in the League so they can finish the job; our only priority is rescuing the hostage. If Ra's wants to help, you're going to have to do things our way."

The two locked eyes for several seconds, and then Cheshire sighed. "Fine, but we could still use more people on our side."

Ken shook his head. "We can't be sure if the League of Assassins compromised our comms, so we can't risk it. This is all we've got."

Cheshire leaned back in her chair and sighed. "Fine, whatever; who're the munchkins?"

Ken glanced at Damian and Cassandra.

"Call me Shadowbat," Damian said, making up the name on the spot, "This is the new Batgirl."

Cheshire raised an eyebrow. "What, she doesn't talk?"

Something blurred past Cheshire, slicing off a few strands of hair, before it came back to land in Cassandra's hand. She put the batarang back into her belt and crossed her arms. The message was clear: actions spoke louder than words.

"Okay, you've proven your point," Cheshire said, not batting an eye, "We still need to plan, however."

"We'll have to do it on the way," Ken said, "We've got until midnight, and then they execute Wonder Woman."

Cheshire grimaced. "Knowing Talia, she might have already."

…

**OceanCorp Oil Rig, 17:58 GMT-5**

The first thing Diana felt was the shock of getting woken up with a bucket of ice-cold water dumped onto her. She sputtered and shook the last of her unconsciousness away and examined her surroundings.

She was in a cell, that much was obvious. It was a simple metal box, barely wider than the length of both of her arms; she could tell that because her wrists were chained to the back wall, her fingers almost brushing the sides of her prison. She was forced into a sitting position due to her chained wrists and ankles, which were bound together; she was sitting on a metal cot that, from the look of it, could retract into the wall. Above her was an open grate; from the dripping water, she guessed that someone had woken her by dumping it from a level above.

Diana tried to snap her bonds, but she felt so weak, and the cut on her arm made it painful to even try; it was then that she felt something around her neck.

_Probably an inhibitor-collar, _she thought, _someone really doesn't want me getting out. The question is, 'where do they not want me getting out from?'_

On the opposite side of the cell was a door, but without a window or knob on the inside. There was a creaking sound, and the door opened, revealing a woman, the same one who had led the attack on Diana.

"Diana Wayne," the woman said, walking slowly into the cell, "formerly Diana Prince. You have no idea how long I've wanted to meet you in person."

"Since I don't know who you are, I can't say that the feeling is mutual," Diana said, "Now, how about you get this collar off me, and we can discuss your hospitality."

_Smack!_

Diana reeled from the slap; the collar took away her durability, so the full force of the blow hurt. She felt blood trickle down from the corner of her mouth, but she said nothing, only glaring at her captor.

"You do not get to speak to me that way," the woman snarled, "I am Talia al Ghul, and you are _nothing_!"

Talia? That was a name that Diana hadn't heard in a long time. Bruce had told her the story of how Ra's al Ghul had tried to make him his successor, cemented by the union of Bruce and Talia. While Bruce and the assassin had become… _involved_ for a time, their differing lifestyles had torn them apart.

That had been before Bruce and Diana had even met, and other than a brief description of her, Bruce hadn't spoken of Talia. When Bruce and Diana married, Bruce had received a note from Ra's al Ghul, saying that he had accepted Bruce's choice, and that he would no longer pursue him as a successor.

If the enraged look on Talia's face was anything to go by, she hadn't taken the news well, and had been nursing a grudge all this time.

"Bruce was to be _mine_," Talia hissed, grabbing Diana by the collar and bringing their faces level, "but you _stole _him from me!"

Diana only smirked. "I guess he just has better taste."

With a shriek, Talia pulled out a needle and jabbed it into Diana's neck; within moments, Diana went limp, her chains the only thing keeping her upright, and barely conscious. Talia pulled a remote control from her belt and pressed a button; the cot Diana sat on withdrew into the wall, leaving her suspended.

Talia put on a pair of spiked gauntlets and drew a fist back. "We'll see how well you fit his taste when I am done…"

…

Half an hour later, Talia stepped out of the cell and wiped the blood from her knuckles. As much as she wanted to end Diana's miserable life, she still needed her alive for now. Though Talia had amazing control over her actions, thanks to her decades of intensive training, she couldn't risk giving in to her rage during Diana's beating; as such, she had modified the inhibitor-collar to allow Diana to keep her ability to heal faster. It wasn't as effective at purging the sedative coursing through her, but it ensured that she wouldn't die from her injuries.

"Mistress," one of her Assassins said, approaching her and bowing before handing her a tablet that was linked to the rig's security systems, "Our scanners have detected a vessel heading towards us. A signal is being transmitted, claiming that the passengers are your guests."

Talia nodded. "Let them board, but prepare a force to ambush them. Kill all but the children; they must be brought to me alive."

The Assassin bowed again before leaving. Once she was alone, Talia smiled.

_You may have your father's heart, Damian, but not his intellect, it seems. I'm sure that you are expecting a trap or a double-cross, and you would be right. However, the only thing better than a trap is _two _traps—one that you can see, and one that you cannot._

_Come to me, Damian, Cassandra… Mother is waiting._

**So… yeah. That was kinda dark. Umm, sorry? But at least it's an interesting way to start this story, right?**

**As is my custom, I shall address some points that might be brought up.**

**Wonder Woman losing so easily: There were a lot of factors that weren't in Diana's favor. She was lost in thought, she thought she was safe in her home, and was taken by surprise. If anyone knows Talia, you know that she goes in prepared. Considering her grudge with Diana spans more than a decade, she's had a long time to plan this.**

**Cheshire teaming up with the Team as if it's not a big deal: The simple fact is that the Team were on the clock. They couldn't afford to waste time debating whether or not they could trust her, and though having the empathic Raven helps, she **_**can **_**be fooled, but they didn't have time to wait; the longer they waited, the less chance Diana had. Speaking of which…**

**Diana's torture: First of all, I'm not going to go into detail for that, as I want to keep this story rated T. Second, it's a crazy Talia, she wouldn't hold back.**

**Damian's code-name: He's not keeping Shadowbat. Just saying. This is a one-time thing.**

**Lack of Ken: For those who have read Part 1 (and if this story is going to make any sense, you should), you will remember that Ken was the main focus of most of that story. In this chapter, he barely had any focus on him at all. Don't worry, he'll return to the spotlight in other chapters, but I thought I'd focus on other characters for this arc, specifically the Bat-Clan. I like this version of the Bat-Clan.**

**I know that this chapter seemed short, but then again, **_**all **_**of my first chapters are short. Next chapter, however, is when things get good.**

**Next time, on Unlimited Justice: The Team goes after Wonder Woman with the help of Cheshire, but will they succeed? Plus, the secret of Cassandra Cain is revealed! **

**Muffins maketh Man.**


	2. Obsession, Part 2

**BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY OC'S BELONG TO ME, FOR I AM THEIR LITERARY GOD.**

**I am… confused. I finally got around to seeing the animated movie 'Assault on Arkham' a little while back, and I found myself rooting for the bad guys. That usually doesn't happen, especially in a superhero movie. I am pleased that Jennifer Hale voiced Killer Frost, however. The movie **_**did **_**give me an idea for an OC-focused Mass Effect story with a Suicide Squad of their own. I have no idea when I'll get around to writing it, but the Suicide Squad has quickly become one of my favorite groups ever.**

**Anyway, back to dealing with the crazy ex.**

Unlimited Justice, Part 2

Chapter 2

Obsession, Part 2

**OceanCorp Oil Rig, January 5, 18:45 GMT-5**

When Ship, transformed into a small submarine, surfaced near the oil rig's docks, he was greeted by a score of Assassins, their hands drifting to swords or guns. They didn't attack, however, not even when Ship opened up his hatch and allowed Damian and Cassandra to get out. Once the children had their feet on the metal floor, Ship turned back into his natural form and crawled between the siblings. He would have sat on one of their shoulders, but if something went wrong, he couldn't impede the movement of either of them.

One of the Assassins approached, ignoring the growling from Ship, either because he didn't care or because Ship's growling was more adorable than threatening.

"You came alone?" the Assassin asked.

Damian gave the man a flat stare. "Do you think anyone could fit inside Ship _now_?"

Again, the man ignored the small alien on the ground. "You two will follow me to the mistress. Your… pet, however, must remain behind."

Damian shared a brief glance with Cassandra, but both of them nodded in the end. The latter patted Ship on the head before following their guide; the little alien couldn't help but worry as the doors into the deeper level of the rig closed.

…

"Our mistress has been eagerly awaiting your arrival," the Assassin said as he led them through the hallways. Damian had been expecting more compact routes with little room to maneuver, but it seemed that only the outside of the oil rig; the halls were tall and wide, probably so that the Assassins could use their agility to outmaneuver enemies.

"And why _is _Ms. al Ghul so intent on seeing us?" Damian asked.

"The mind of the mistress is not for me to know," the Assassin said which, to Damian and Cassandra, translated to 'I wasn't told'.

"Any idea what Wonder Woman's condition is?" Damian asked, "After all, if she's not okay, we're leaving."

The Assassin shrugged. "I know that there is no permanent damage."

Damian shared a tense look with Cassandra, who nodded. With a sharp kick, Cassandra drove her foot into the back of the Assassin's knee, staggering him; Damian followed that up with by grabbing the man by the hair and slamming his face into a wall.

"That was for telling us that there was damage," Damian spat, while Cassandra kicked the unconscious man in the gut. "Come on, let's see if we can make the Team's job easier."

…

While the two Waynes followed the Assassin, Ship waited patiently at the dock; he did jump a little, however, when the remaining Assassins pointed their weapons at him once the children were gone.

"No witnesses," one Assassin said, drawing back his sword, "No survivors."

…

Underwater, just a few hundred meters away from the oil rig, Superboy tensed. "The kids are separated; looks like they're about to attack Ship."

"Okay, time for us to go to work," Ken said, his voice strained as he maintained the bubble of Mana that kept them all from being drowned.

The Team, and Cheshire, had been inside of Ship with Damian and Cassandra, but had bailed out when Ship had detected motion-sensors on the rig. Once in the water, Ken had formed a barrier and forced it downwards until it reached the ocean floor. They moved on foot until they were closer to the rig; with Ken staying focused on maintaining the barrier, Superboy was tasked with keeping Ship, Damian and Cassandra within his sight. Unfortunately, the rig itself was lined with lead, so as soon as the Waynes entered the structure, the Team would have to move.

"About time," Cheshire huffed, "I hate the ocean."

"I'm sure the ocean hates you back," Artemis growled.

Cheshire rolled her eyes behind her mask. "Hey, demon-girl! Get that portal ready!"

"Don't call me that," Raven said in a low voice, but held out a hand that was wreathed in dark energy.

…

Just as the man swung his sword, a black portal appeared between him and his target. From within that portal, an arm shot out and caught the blade; Superboy stepped out fully and grinned.

"Sometimes, I love magic," he said, punching the Assassin in the face hard enough to smash him into the ceiling.

Cheshire and Artemis were next out, the former kicking a man in the throat while the latter fired an arrow that trailed knock-out gas, taking out five more. Robin and Starfire came out of the portal guns—or rather, birdarangs and starbolts—blazing; Robin sliced the tendons in one man's arm before kicking him into the water, while Starfire blasted three men at once.

Wolf and Sphere came out just in time to support Ship, who had turned into his battle-mode, even though there was no pilot. The mutated animal and New Genesphere crashed into the Assassins trying to flank Ship, taking them down in pile of fangs, fur and alien metal.

Raven was next out, with Ken right behind her, but by the time they arrived, the fight was over. Raven didn't seem to care, while Ken was hunched over, trembling from exertion.

"You okay?" Raven asked.

Ken shrugged. "I was holding up millions of tons of water; I have super-strength, and even _my _arms hurt. Hey, Star, can you give me a boost?"

"Of course," Starfire said, shooting Ken with a stream of starbolts; Ken easily absorbed the energy, quickly regaining his stamina.

"Now that that's done," Ken said, "let's catch up with Shadowbat and Batgirl; if they were going to kill Ship, then they probably didn't have any intention of letting anyone leave.

"Ship, Wolf, Sphere—guard this point, I want our exit ready." Ken looked at the others. "Everyone else is with me; we can't risk splitting up and getting picked off. First priority is regrouping with the others, then we rescue Wonder Woman and get out."

The Team nodded, but Cheshire didn't. Ken didn't really care; so long as everyone on his side got out of this safely and Cheshire didn't try to stop them, he'd let her do what she wanted. Unlike most heroes, Ken didn't care if villains killed each other, so long as innocents didn't get caught in the crossfire.

"Let's go," Ken said, the Team and Cheshire right behind him, "Raven, can you sense Wonder Woman?"

Raven bit her lip uncertainly. "I think so; there's someone who's really out of it, so it's probably her. Da—I mean, Shadowbat and Batgirl are closer, though."

Ken nodded. "Fine, we get them first, but we have to move fast; the longer this takes, the odds of someone getting hurt go up."

"I'd be amazed if someone _didn't _get hurt," Cheshire commented, "We're going up against some of the best from the League of Shadows, and we've got almost no intel about what else is here."

"Hope for the best, plan for the worst," Ken said philosophically, just as bulkheads in front and behind them began to slam shut, "Like right now. Superboy!"

The two half-Kryptonians sprinted for the front bulkhead and braced themselves under the weight. Despite its weight, the bulkhead hadn't been developed with superheroes like Ken and Superboy working together in mind; the cousins were able to hold it open long enough for everyone else to move through.

"These doors are not thick enough to keep us trapped forever," Starfire observed, "They will only slow us down."

"That might be the point," Artemis said, before turning to her sister, "Cheshire, any idea what's going through Talia's head?"

"How should I know?" Cheshire snapped, "I've only met her twice, and she didn't even talk to me. All I _do _know is that she's usually a professional, but if something gets personal for her, her game can get thrown off. Even then, she's dangerous."

The Team shot her a collective look that basically said, 'no duh'.

Ken looked ahead, where another bulkhead had closed. "Come on, let's break through this junk; we have to find the kids."

…

Damian bit back a curse that would have made his mother toss Nightwing into the ceiling if she heard him and found that her son had learned the word from the oldest adopted Wayne. Once again, a bulkhead had slammed in front of him and Cassandra, but the hallway they were in branched off in another direction; when no bulkheads closed there, it was obvious that they were being shepherded somewhere.

"I don't like this," Damian muttered. Cassandra nodded in agreement.

"There they are!" an Assassin shouted as he and two others came around a corner; two drew katanas while the third aimed a suppressed rifle.

Damian threw a flash-bang pellet, closing his eyes just in time to avoid the effects. He and Cassandra rushed in, bombarding their opponents with punches and kicks. Unfortunately, unlike the first man they attacked, these three were better prepared; besides that, the two of them were only eleven years old and hadn't finished their training, while they were up against experienced killers. Damian was winded by a punch to the gut, while Cassandra was stunned by a blow to the head; in moments, they had been subdued and bound.

"Bring them to the mistress," one Assassin ordered, "I will tell her that we have her prize."

…

In the oil rig's command center, Talia smiled from her seat as her men brought in the captives. They glared at her, but Talia didn't mind; one of them was ignorant, and the other couldn't remember.

"You've finally arrived," she purred, "Welcome to my home."

Damian scoffed. "Your hospitality is lacking, lady."

Talia's smile was patronizing. "It would have been much better, had you not attacked your guide; I was perfectly content to let you come here without any sort of deception."

"Mistress, pardon the interruption," one of the Assassins said, "What about the other intruders? They are breaching the barricades and will reach us soon."

Talia nodded. "Send our allies to stop them. You may go now."

The Assassins bowed and left, leaving Talia alone with the two children.

"Well, we're here now," Damian growled, "Let Wonder Woman go."

Talia's smile vanished, replaced by cold hatred. "I only said that I would kill her if you failed to show up. I never said anything about letting her go."

Damian snarled, and even Cassandra let out a hissing noise. Unfazed, Talia got up and walked over to them.

"You have no idea what it has been like for me, Damian," she said, "For years, I was promised to your father; we were to purge this world of wickedness and sin, ruling together forever! Instead, Bruce Wayne chose _her_, preventing the coming of the greatest dynasty in Human history! I should have been your mother, and you would have been a prince, heir to everything on Earth!"

Damian blinked; then, to the surprise of both Talia and Cassandra, started to laugh. "You've got to be kidding me! All of this, just because you got snubbed? Because you were _jealous_!? That's just pathetic! Also, technically, I _am _a prince, or at least part of a royal line; my mother is the daughter of a queen!"

Granted, Hippolyta had only met Damian a few times, and only during his rare visits to Themyscira, but after almost twenty years of diplomatic relations with the wider world, the Amazons were somewhat more tolerant of men. The son of their princess was accepted, albeit a little grudgingly, and remained one of the only males that their queen ever smiled at.

Talia scowled. "Of course you would think that; your father has been corrupted by that woman, and in turn, he has corrupted you. I had hoped that I could turn you to my way of thinking, but just in case… I had a contingency.

"Cassandra, come here."

Damian glanced at Cassandra, who shook her head at the older woman.

Talia frowned. "Cassandra, it is time for you to _fulfill your destiny_."

With those last three words, Cassandra went from warily alert to completely frozen. With stilted, mechanical steps, she walked over to stand at Talia's side.

"What did you do to her!?" Damian shouted; he ran at Talia, but with his arms still bound behind him, he had no way to stop her from kicking him in the chest.

"Have you never heard of telepathically-induced commands before?" Talia asked, then reached out to remove Cassandra's mask. "I made certain that I would have a way to control her from the moment she was created."

"Created?" Damian repeated, struggling to get back up.

"Of course," Talia said, "Cassandra was not born, but _made_. She is a clone, one that I created by combining DNA from both Bruce and myself. I trained her in absolute silence, removing the compassion and emotion that comes from Human speech.

"But it wasn't enough. The girl couldn't meet my expectations, no matter how hard I disciplined her. I realized that there needed to be _some _influence from her father, so I staged her escape and ensured her arrival in Gotham City. She was brought into your 'family', exposed to Bruce's greatness, and the part of her that was missing is now complete. She is the child that could have been, _should _have been born between us, and I have brought her back to me to complete her training, as well as get her away before Bruce's weaknesses could infect her.

"Damian, she is your half-sister; you both share your father's DNA. Join us, and you shall both inherit the world!"

…

After months of working with Raven, Ken had picked up certain signs when something went wrong. One of those signs was when she stumbled while moving; typically, Raven moved with an almost cautious grace. When she stumbled, like she did at that moment, it meant she'd felt something truly bad.

"You okay?" Ken asked as he caught her, leaving the destruction of the next bulkhead to Superboy and Starfire.

Raven took a shaky breath. "Something's wrong. I don't know what, but someone is messed up; I sense fear, anger, shock… I haven't felt anything this bad since when we found out about the League getting brainwashed."

"That was only a week ago," Artemis pointed out, but let the point drop when she received several glares. "Sorry."

"We need to find the kids," Robin said grimly, "I don't like not knowing what's going on, and I'm starting to get worried."

"We're almost through," Superboy grunted as he punched his arm through the foot-thick lead-lined steel, "Let's hope this is the last… oh, crud."

As he and Starfire ripped apart the door, the others saw what had him worried; waiting in a large, open room were dozens of Assassins, along with four known super-criminals. There was Jinx, a pale-skinned girl with pink hair and black clothes, she could alter probability and create bad luck. On her left was Gizmo, a small boy with a bald head, he wore a green jumpsuit and goggles, and had a small laboratory's worth of tech. On Jinx's right was Billy Numerous, a teen that wore a red bodysuit with the symbol for division on his chest; he had the power to create solid duplicates of himself. Behind the younger heroes was a face that the Team recognized: Mammoth, the mutated monster that once served Kobra.

Ken and Robin each had to suppress a wince; they'd fought Jinx two years ago, and it hadn't ended well for them. It had taken a full three hours before they had been able to subdue her, and they'd nearly died several times in the process. Gizmo and Billy were known associates of hers; the three often worked as mercenaries for various crime lords as enforcers or muscle during operations.

"Hey, boys," Jinx said, waving at Ken and Robin, "How's it going?"

"Not bad," Ken said nonchalantly, "I don't suppose you could get out of the way?"

Jinx smiled. "Nope. We're getting paid quite a bit to stop you; besides, it would be a bad idea to double-cross a group called the League of Assassins."

"Fair point," Ken said, then whispered to the Team and Cheshire, "Robin, Artemis, Cheshire, go after Talia; I can hear her talking to the kids, so she's nearby. We'll stay here and fight these guys, and then we'll go after Wonder Woman."

"Got it," Robin said, "Good luck."

"Team, move!" Ken shouted, then fired a bolt of lightning from his mouth at Mammoth. Jinx waved her hand and the lightning went off-course, missing Mammoth, but hit an Assassin instead.

"Whoops," Jinx said sheepishly, "Sorry about that."

"Attack!" an Assassin yelled, then charged.

Robin, Artemis and Cheshire headed to the door on the other side of the room; Robin's trench knives and Cheshire's sword left enough bleeding Assassins behind them that the others were wary of getting close, and Artemis' arrows made sure they kept their distance.

"Not bad, kid," Cheshire said to Robin, "You'd make a good Shadow."

Robin didn't respond, save for 'accidentally' almost hitting her with a birdarang that he threw at an Assassin.

…

While those three made their way out of the ambush, Superboy collided with Mammoth; the hybrid clone grabbed his opponent by the wrist and swung him around, smashing aside several unfortunate Assassins who happened to be nearby.

"Wow," Superboy grunted as he deflected a wild swing from Mammoth, "You're _really _bad at this, aren't you?"

Mammoth only roared.

…

Starfire found herself getting chased by Gizmo, whose backpack had turned into a jetpack armed with a minigun. Bullets flew after her, which she answered with starbolts; neither could land a hit, but the room wasn't large enough for either to use their full maneuverability, though Starfire would occasionally fire down on the Assassins below to help her teammates.

"Give it up, you freakin' alien girl!" Gizmo shouted, "I've got enough firepower to level this stinkin' place!"

"And yet," Starfire said, turning her feet forwards to kick off of a wall and rush past Gizmo, "You have yet to hit me."

"Stay still and I will!" Gizmo yelled.

Starfire tilted her head. "Why would I do that?"

…

While the aerial battle continued, Raven found herself pinned. Billy Numerous had created dozens of copies of himself, and the entire mob had tried to dog-pile her; Raven was only able to avoid getting crushed by creating a dome of black energy, but there was little she could do to counterattack with her preferred magic.

"Come on, little lady," a Billy said in a Southern accent, "Let us inside. We won't hurt ya… much."

"Yeah, our momma said not to hurt a sweet thing like you," another Billy said, leering at her.

Raven's eyes narrowed. "I am _not _sweet. _Enibmoc otni eno!_"

The mass of Billys yelped as they slammed together into one person again. Raven let her barrier drop and glared down at Billy, who lay on the floor.

"Ah hate magic," he muttered, right before Raven's foot smashed into his face.

…

Ken bit back a curse as he tripped and fell face-first into the floor. Every time he'd tried to attack, Jinx had used her powers to make his life miserable; the fact that she was constantly laughing wasn't helping matters.

"You're still so bad at this," she said, leaning back to avoid an Assassin that Superboy had thrown in her general direction, "You've only hit me once, ever."

Ken actually grinned at that. "If I remember right, that one hit knocked you out for six hours."

Jinx's laughter stopped. "Shut up!"

"Make me."

With a snap of her fingers, the floor under Ken's feet buckled, then shattered, causing him to fall into a lower level of the rig. Jinx smirked and turned to fight against the other heroes, but didn't see Ken pass through another part of the floor; he'd turned intangible and jumped back up to continue the fight.

Before Jinx could turn back, Ken had become solid and hit her in the back with a stream of lightning; it didn't knock her out, but she still collapsed, twitching, to the floor.

"Guess you can't give someone bad luck if you don't see them coming, huh?" Ken asked, smiling cheekily before he flicked Jinx on the temple, knocking her out.

Ken was about to help Raven with the other Assassins, but a stray bullet ricocheted off his nose; he looked up to see Starfire and Gizmo still at it. He raised his hand and fired a tendril of Mana that wrapped around Gizmo's foot, stopping him for a moment.

"Hit him, Star!" Ken yelled.

Starfire obliged, knocking Gizmo out of the air with a barrage of starbolts. The little villain crashed to the floor; before he could recover, Ken ripped his backpack off and crushed it.

"Hey!" Gizmo whined, "Do you have any idea how much all that tech cost?"

Ken shrugged. "No, and I don't care."

Before Gizmo could complain some more, Starfire landed and brought her fist down onto his head.

"He was most irritating," she commented.

"At least he didn't have Jinx's powers," Ken replied, "Come on, let's finish this up."

…

Damian was beyond just shocked; his mind had nearly shut down, unable to comprehend what he'd been told. Cassandra was a hybrid clone of his father and Talia? No, it was impossible!

"You're lying!" he shouted, finally able to get his mouth working again.

"Why would I lie?" Talia asked, "Cassandra was created to be what you would not, but it is not too late. I know that you already consider her your sister, that need not change; you only need to give up that noble, yet utterly foolish, selflessness that your father refused to discard. Join me, Damian; I can be the mother you should have had!"

"I already have a mother," Damian replied coldly, "and so does Cassandra, and she's a better mom than you'd ever be!"

Talia's eyes went wide with rage; she unsheathed her sword and thrust it into Cassandra's hands. "Let us see how your mother accepts her when she murders her son! Cassandra, kill him!"

Still in a trancelike state, Cassandra grabbed the sword and lunged at Damian; with his hands still bound, Damian was only barely able to dodge.

"Cass, stop!" he begged, "I know you don't want to do this!"

If Cassandra heard him, she didn't react; she came after him again with a flurry of swings. Damian was able to avoid most of the strikes, but one bit deeply into his left arm; he fell to the ground with a scream of pain.

It was to this scene that Robin, Artemis and Cheshire arrived.

"What are you doing!?" Robin demanded, staring at Cassandra.

"Not her fault," Damian said through gritted teeth, "Stop Talia!"

"You two go after Talia," Artemis said, aiming an arrow at Cassandra, "I've got this."

With no time to argue, Robin and Cheshire leapt at Talia; Robin threw birdarangs, while Cheshire threw shuriken. Talia dodged them all with ease, then drew a collapsible sword, like Cheshire's, and used it to almost dismember the Shadow.

"You serve my father," Talia said, almost conversationally, "To follow Ra's, you must be even more deluded than he is."

"Right, because betraying the Shadows _and _the Light was the mark of the truly sane," Cheshire shot back, landing a glancing kick, but paying for it when Talia punched her in the kidneys.

Robin lashed out with his trench knives, but Talia's decades of experience made a mockery of even his skill. Robin was quickly put on the defensive, hissing in pain as he received several small cuts.

"Don't make me do this, kid," Artemis warned, her electrified arrow aimed at Cassandra; the younger girl only stared at her blankly, then raised her sword and charged.

Artemis fired, but the shot missed when Cassandra ducked. With no time to draw another arrow, Artemis used her bow as a quarterstaff, deflecting the sword strikes; she didn't fight as well as she could because, if Damian was right, then Cassandra wasn't in control. Thankfully, Cassandra only had the strength of an eleven-year-old, but the steel in her hands would be deadly if it hit the right spot.

While Artemis fought Cassandra, Damian struggled to his feet; he spotted one of Robin's birdarangs not too far away and stumbled over to it. With some effort, he turned backwards to pick it up and used it to slice through his bonds. After spending a moment to get the feeling in his hands back, and fighting to ignore the pain in his arm, he went after Cassandra.

He had to save his sister.

Artemis' eyes went wide when Cassandra was able to knock her bow out of her hands. The girl drew back her sword to stab Artemis, but a pair of hands grabbed her wrists.

"Cass, stop it," Damian whispered, "Look at me. You don't have to do this; I don't care what Talia says, I know you would never hurt me or anyone else in our family."

If Cassandra heard him, she didn't show it; she struggled to free herself from Damian's grasp. As much as Artemis wanted to believe that Damian's words would bring Cassandra around, she was also aware that Talia was still beating the stuffing out of Robin and her sister. With an apologetic look at both of the Wayne children, she punched Cassandra in the temple, knocking her out.

"Sorry," she said to Damian, "we can fix her brain later, but we have to stop Talia and save Wonder Woman right now."

Reluctantly, Damian nodded; Artemis scooped up her bow, and the two of them rushed into the fight.

…

"I think that's all of them," Ken said, tossing the last Assassin into the ceiling.

"For now," Starfire said, "We should rescue Wonder Woman immediately."

"Right," Ken nodded, then looked at the Team's resident sorceress. "Raven, mind telling us where she is?"

Raven's eyes glowed with black energy for a moment, then pointed to a hallway. "There. She's still in pain, but it's not as bad as before."

"Then let's go save her before someone changes that," Superboy growled.

The four of them headed in Wonder Woman's direction, leaving behind dozens of Assassins and their supervillain allies in a heap. They didn't stop for anything, Ken and Superboy acting as living battering rams, breaking through doors and any Assassins unfortunate enough to try to stop them.

When they finally reached the cell, Ken merely gestured from Superboy and Raven to the door, while he and Starfire fought the handful of guards nearby. Superboy shoved his fingers through the thick steel and tore it off with a shriek of twisting metal. He and Raven rushed into the cell; to say they were upset with what they found would have been an understatement.

Diana was still chained to the wall, covered in bruises and cuts; her head lolled to the side, and if Superboy's super-hearing hadn't caught her heartbeat, he would have thought she was dead.

While Superboy ripped off the chains and inhibitor-collar before gently lowering Diana onto the cell's cot, Raven went to work, healing some of the more serious injuries.

"I can help with the cuts and bruises," Raven said, "but there's something in her system that's keeping her unconscious."

Superboy turned his head to the cell's entrance. "Ken…"

"I heard! Gimme a sec!" there was the sound of a fist hitting flesh, a yell of pain and then an impact on steel, before Ken's voice was heard, speaking into his comms. "Watchtower, this is Ken. I need a team of Leaguers at my coordinates right now; Wonder Woman is down and we're outnumbered!"

Thirty seconds later, there was a rumbling sound from above them, and then Superman, Supergirl, Ultimate Echo Echo, along with a dozen other Leaguers crashed through the ceiling. The remaining Assassins were quickly subdued, but when Batman arrived, he didn't pay them any notice. Instead, he walked up to his wife and began checking her vitals.

"She needs medical attention," he said tersely, "Ken, gather the rest of the Team; you and the League will finish up here."

"Uh, one other thing, Batman," Ken said, suddenly wary of what he was about to say, "Damian and Cassandra are here too. I think they're fighting Talia al Ghul."

For the first time since he'd known him, Ken saw Batman's eyes go wide.

"WHAT!?"

…

Cassandra's eyes fluttered open, but she immediately wished that she was still unconscious; her head ached, but that wasn't the worst thing. When Talia had activated her mental programming, she had been aware of what she'd been doing, but was unable to stop herself; she had been horrified with herself when she'd attacked Damian, even more so when she'd _hurt _him.

But even that wasn't the worst. Talia's revelations about who she was had awakened the memories that had been forced down by drugs and hypnosis. She remembered the merciless training, the indifference when she'd succeeded and the beatings when she'd failed, all to show potential to a man she'd never even met, and all in complete silence.

Despite being raised—in the loosest sense of the word—by Talia and trained by Batman, Cassandra had never hated silence so much at that moment.

A grunt of pain dragged her out of the memories; across the room, Robin crashed into the wall, a trickle of blood coming down from his mouth to his chin. Talia was still holding her own, barely winded, against Artemis, Cheshire and Damian.

"You disappoint me," Talia said, calmly blocking a kick from Damian before slamming him into Artemis, "You could have inherited the world, Damian; instead, you chose to fight against fate."

"My family doesn't believe in fate," Damian said weakly, "Maybe that's why Dad dumped you; that, and you're really creepy."

Talia scowled; she threw Cheshire over her shoulder before raising her sword. "If that is how you feel, then you shall—urk!"

Everyone froze at the sight of the bloody blade protruding from Talia's leg; Talia turned her head to see her attacker, one whom she'd thought would never raise a hand against her. Cassandra had been freed from her programming after being knocked out, her brain temporarily rebooted; she glared up at her mother with vengeful eyes.

And then, Cassandra spoke.

"Never touch my family," she said; her voice was soft and stilted from disuse, but there was a touch of steel behind it that reminded Talia of the man who should have been hers.

Talia opened her mouth to reply, but another sword speared through her heart; surprised, Cassandra let go of her own sword, allowing Talia to fall.

"Well," Cheshire wiped her hands together, "That's my job done; thanks for the assist, kid."

Before the heroes could try to stop her, Cheshire dropped a smoke-bomb; by the time the smoke cleared, she was gone.

Mere seconds after that, the Team and the League arrived, but were momentarily frozen when they saw Talia's corpse. Artemis was helping Robin to his feet, while Cassandra tended to Damian.

"Glad to see you're back," Damian said, hugging his half-sister, "Wanna go home?"

Cassandra nodded. "Yes."

Ken blinked. "Okay… what'd we miss?"

…

**Mount Justice, 23:32 EST**

After returning to the Cave, half of the Team found the other half anxiously waiting. The whole story was told in the infirmary, allowing everyone to get caught up while Robin and Artemis had their injuries treated.

"So, Cassandra's a clone?" Safari asked, leaning back as she thought about that.

"A _hybrid _clone," Seeker reminded her, "Created by a smart, dangerous person who was obsessed with someone else."

"Sounds familiar," Superboy said with a small smile, "Maybe I can, I don't know, be there if she needs to talk to another hybrid clone."

Miss Martian kissed him on the cheek. "That's sweet, Conner. I know that Uncle J'onn and I can go through her mind and clean out any other programming that Cassandra may have."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that, both of you," Robin said, trying not to wince as the Cave's medical-drones stitched together several deep cuts, "Right now, Batman's keeping an eye on her in the Batcave."

"Is that a good idea?" Kid Flash asked, "I mean, she was an assassin-in-training, but Bats is just gonna let her stay in his house?"

Robin smirked. "I said that Batman was keeping an eye on her; until M'gann and J'onn go through her head, he's not letting her out of his sight."

Ken abruptly stood up, getting everyone's attention. "Okay, no offense, Conner, but… no more clones! Seriously, first Conner, then Galatea, Red Arrow and now Cassandra! I swear, if someone clones Brainiac or something, I'm gonna lose it!"

"Technically, Brainiac was a machine, you can't clone that," Cyborg pointed out, but held up his hands when Ken glared at him, "But I get the point."

Ken spent a moment strangling empty air, then sat down and buried his face in his hands.

Seeker patted him on the back consolingly. "At least this one didn't punch you."

"Which makes me two for two," Ken muttered.

Warhawk chuckled, but then turned to Robin. "So, how's Wonder Woman doing?"

Robin glanced at a nearby clock. "Batman said that the sedative would wear off soon, so she should be home…"

…

**Wayne Manor, January 6, 00:45 EST**

Diana slowly opened her eyes and sighed in relief. Unlike the last time she'd woken up, which had been for a brief period on the Watchtower, she was now at home, lying in her comfortable bed. Aside from a spot of fresh paint on the wall, everything was just as she'd left it.

"Feeling better, Mom?" Diana turned her head and smiled at Damian, who was at her side.

"I am," Diana said, then held out her arms, "but I'd feel even better if you gave me a hug."

Damian obliged, hugging his mother for all he was worth; despite her injuries, Diana still had superhuman durability, and didn't need to worry about an eleven-year-old's strength. She frowned, however, when she noticed several bandages on Damian's head, neck and arm.

"What happened to you?" she asked seriously.

"Uh, well," Damian avoided eye-contact for a moment, "You see, the thing is…"

…

Twenty minutes later, Diana had her arm crossed and she was frowning at the ceiling.

"Cassandra is a clone," she said.

"Hybrid clone," Damian corrected.

"Of Talia."

"And Dad."

"She was brainwashed to attack you."

"And when she snapped out of it, she saved my life."

Diana slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. "Can I talk to her?"

Damian nodded and headed for the door, but paused just before leaving. "You know, she was just as worried about you as I was."

Diana only nodded.

…

"Please stop picking at your stitches, young lady," Alfred scolded as Cassandra poked at her head, "It will scar if you keep it up."

Cassandra flinched, then quickly put her hands in her lap. Aside from when she'd spoken in the fight against Talia, she hadn't said a single word since.

Bruce watched her from the corner of his eye as he typed on the computer; despite what she had done, he was still somewhat reluctant to put 'deceased' in Talia's file.

"Hey, Dad?" Damian called down from the top of the stairs, "Mom wants to see Cassandra."

Bruce paused in his typing; he got up and gently escorted Cassandra upstairs and then to his and Diana's room.

"We'll be right out here," he said, standing just outside the doorway; whether he was saying it to Diana or Cassandra, no one knew.

"Are they going to be okay?" Damian whispered, once Cassandra went inside.

Bruce was silent for several seconds. "I hope so."

…

Cassandra looked like she wanted to be anywhere else; she squirmed under Diana's gaze, certain that her adopted mother wanted nothing to do with her. After all, her biological mother—a fact that made her want to gag—had created her to hurt the Wayne family.

"Come here," Diana said softly, then waited until Cassandra was within arm's reach. "Cassandra, honey, I'm not mad at you."

If Cassandra's rapid blinking was anything to go by, that had been the last thing she'd expected to hear, and it nearly broke Diana's heart.

"You had no control over how you came to be," she said, "and I can't blame you for what Talia did. I remember how you looked when Damian found you; you must have had a hard life."

Cassandra nodded, then froze when Diana reached out and drew her into a gentle hug.

"I don't care what the genetics say," Diana said, "I love you far more than Talia ever did; as far I see it, you're _my _daughter."

Cassandra's eyes stung and her vision blurred. "I love you too… Mom."

Now it was Diana's turn to fight back tears, both because her daughter had spoken, and that she'd called her 'Mom'.

Outside, peeking into the room, Damian grinned at his father. "I have the coolest family ever."

Silently, Bruce agreed, but he was just thankful that _Catwoman_ had never been so obsessed… or had the resources to create a clone.

…

**Unknown Location**

"The task is complete, Great One," Cheshire said, kneeling before Ra's al Ghul, "Talia is dead, and the League of Assassins has been brought down."

"Very good," Ra's said, "Though the loss of my daughter is painful, her defection both stained my honor and could have exposed the Light. You have done well, Cheshire; return to your quarters and rest, for you shall have another assignment soon."

Cheshire got up to leave, but then hesitated. "Great One, I have a question."

Ra's inclined his head. "Ask it."

"I saw the faces of those that Talia wanted," Cheshire said, "I was able to figure out who Batman is. Why don't we expose him and remove a thorn in the Light's side?"

Ra's actually smiled a little. "It is a matter of honor, young one, something that I hold even dearer than my association with the Light.

"Besides… once our plans are complete, the thorn that is Batman will be removed forever."

**And there we go, the first arc (really more of a 2-part even, honestly) is complete! I hoped you liked Cassandra's new origins, as well as Talia's demise. I know that you all wanted her to suffer for hurting Diana, but Cheshire is an assassin, and they're supposed to kill quickly and cleanly. Also, right before she died, Talia was attacked by the one person she didn't expect: her own creation. That's gotta hurt.**

**Anyway, the Waynes are back, Diana loves her daughter and Cassandra can speak. Happy endings for everyone… except Talia. Because she's dead.**

**I really wanted to have this up sooner, but since 90% of everything I write in Part 2 is original content, updates will come later than I'd like. Sorry about that, but original content is harder to write.**

**Now, rather than go straight into the next arc, I'll be doing a short little one-shot, more for fluff than anything else. I will give you a hint: it involves Ken, Seeker, an undercover mission and awkward situations.**

**You will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Muffin!**


	3. The Rich and the Awkward

**BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY OC'S BELONG TO ME, AS IS THE RIGHT TO PUT THEM IN AKWARD SITUATIONS FOR MY OWN AMUSEMENT.**

**Hello, everyone! Here's the second part of how I'm running Part 2: one-shots! Remember, whenever I put one of these up, there is no real addition to the overall plot, though there will be character development, romantic fluff, etc. Consider them a deep breath before the next arc begins.**

Unlimited Justice, Part 2

Chapter 3

The Rich and the Awkward

**Mount Justice, January 12, 16:55 EST**

"I hate this," Ken muttered, his eyes squeezed shut as he sat cross-legged on the floor.

"What do you hate?" Valerie asked, not looking up from her book as she read on the couch, "Meditating?"

"No, I'm okay with meditating," Ken said, his eyes still closed, "I just hate that Grandma thinks that I'm not training enough with my Mana powers. I mean, I practice all the time, and I already know how to detect the Mana within someone else!"

Valerie smiled. "You don't know why she nags you, do you?"

Sighing, Ken opened his eyes and turned to face his girlfriend. "Do _you_?"

"Of course I do," Valerie said smugly, "She wants to spend more time with you."

"She visits my house every week!" Ken protested.

Finally, Valerie put away her book and looked Ken in the eye. "Yes, but between her League activities, you going to school, training and missions with the Team, how often do you _actually _see each other?"

Ken opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again and huffed. "I hate you sometimes."

Valerie leaned over and kissed him, lingering for several seconds before pulling away. "How about now?"

To his credit, Ken was able to keep a straight face as he shrugged. "Okay, I hate you a little less."

"Good," Valerie pointed to a spot on the couch next to her, "Now, you sit down here and start meditating again, and I'll keep you company."

"I thought you were already doing that?" Ken asked, though he sat down next to her anyway.

Valerie leaned her back against his and resumed reading. "Are you really complaining?"

"Nope," Ken said, closing his eyes and trying to meditate. He wasn't helped when Valerie's fingers danced over his hand every few minutes.

After a while of this, Ken gave up meditating for the day; between his personal life and his superhero activities, there was too much on his mind at that point. Instead, he laced his hand with just a bit of electricity and waited until…

"Ah!" Valerie yelped, jumping and clutching her hand. "You… you shocked me!"

Ken grinned. "Oh, come on, it was barely stronger than a joy-buzzer. Don't be such a baby, Val."

Valerie's eyes narrowed, but Ken could see the corners of her mouth twitching upwards. "Oh, that is _it_!"

Ken leaned back as Valerie tackled him; if he'd simply taken the impact, Valerie might have hurt herself. As it was, the two fell to the floor, laughing as they wrestled, until Ken's fingers landed on Valerie's sides; she froze, knowing what Ken was planning.

"Oh, don't you dare…" she started to warn, but broke off in a fit of uncontrollable laughter as Ken began tickling her mercilessly. Soon, she was gasping for breath, tears running down her face; she sincerely regretted ever telling Ken that she was ticklish. Ken only laughed as he stood and raised his hands.

"I am victorious!" he exclaimed.

After a few deep breaths, Valerie sat up. "Okay, you win. What are the terms of surrender?"

Ken grinned. "I decree that we shall watch a marathon of 'Castle' at my house," he said in a ridiculously exaggerated English accent, "accompanied by ice cream and pizza."

"I accept those terms," Valerie said melodramatically. It wasn't much of a loss; she loved crime shows, and Ken knew it, he was just setting up a date.

"Great," Ken said, dropping the accent and sitting back down, "how does Saturday sound?"

Valerie took a moment to think about it while she fixed her hair. "I think that can work."

"Awesome," Ken said, leaning in to kiss her—

"_Ken 10, Seeker, report to the briefing room," _Batman's voice came in over the intercom, ruining the moment.

Ken sighed and got to his feet, then held out his hand to help up Valerie. "To be continued?"

"Yep," Valerie said, her smile fading into the expressionless face she had while on a mission.

Whatever Batman wanted to talk to them about, it probably wasn't vital; if it was, the rest of the Team would have been called. At the moment, only Ken and Valerie were at the Cave; their teammates were in their home cities—Raven was in New York with Warhawk—getting in some time as 'normal' superheroes, rather than as a covert-ops unit. The only reason that Ken and Valerie were at the Cave at all was because the Team had decided that two members would be at their headquarters at all times; typically, that role fell to Raven and Warhawk, as neither of them had 'normal' lives, but everyone had shifts.

When Ken and Valerie got to the briefing room, they were greeted by the image of Batman on the computer's screen.

"What's the situation?" Ken asked.

"_I have a mission for the two of you," _Batman said, getting right to the point, _"An hour ago, invitations were sent out for wealthy and powerful individuals to attend a party in Gotham City, hosted by Ferris Boyle, a former industrialist."_

Valerie's brow furrowed as she recalled what she knew about Boyle. "Didn't you arrest him years ago for illegally creating weapons?"

Batman nodded. _"I did. However, Boyle served his sentence and was released six months ago. He still has substantial wealth and influence, and this sudden gathering of powerful players has me concerned."_

"If that's the case," Ken asked, "will Bruce Wayne be going to this party?"

Both Ken and Valerie would swear that Batman raised an eyebrow at them from behind his cowl. _"Bruce Wayne officially severed all ties to Boyle when it was discovered that he used Wayne's company's money to fund his weapons-building. With that in mind, Wayne will not be attending._

"_Your part of the mission," _Batman continued, _"will be to infiltrate the party and search for evidence of any illegal activities. As the party is taking place in Boyle's home, there will be personal items, such as computers; you two will examine as much as you can, find any evidence, and get out. Remember, this is an undercover mission, so you will be going in civilian attire and will avoid violent confrontation unless _absolutely _necessary."_

Ken tilted his head. "Will our age be a problem? We don't exactly look like we're old enough to be going to this sort of thing, and neither of us is exactly rich enough or influential enough to get an invitation."

Batman nodded in approval; Ken had spotted flaws in the plan, but it was obvious that he was trying to figure out a way around those flaws.

"_That has already been considered," _he said, then looked at Valerie. _"Files have been sent to the computer; download them. Inside will be your cover identities, personal information and a list of items you will need for the mission. You have two days to prepare. The party starts the day after that."_

With that, Batman disappeared from the screen. It was only after he was gone that Ken realized something.

"Three days… wait, that's Saturday!"

Valerie spared a sympathetic glance with her boyfriend, then began downloading the files. "I guess we're going to have to take a rain-check on that date." A moment later, she handed him a flash drive. "Here's your file; looks like we have some studying to do."

Ken only shrugged. "Hey, I have an eidetic memory, remember? All I have to do is look at it once."

Valerie scowled. "What I wouldn't give for that ability. Do you have any idea how long I spend looking over every little clue and detail?"

"Umm… I'm guessing a long time?"

"Exactly," Valerie huffed, then became serious again. "Come on, let's get to work."

…

**San Francisco, 17:45 PST**

After a few hours of studying their respective files, and quizzing each other so that they knew just as much as each other's new identity as they did their own, Ken and Valerie were relieved by Kid Flash and Artemis and headed to their homes.

Once safely in his own house, Ken allowed himself to freak out.

"I have to wear a suit!" he panicked, racing up to his room and looking through his clothes, "I don't _have_ a suit!"

"A suit for what?" his father's voice said from just outside his room.

"Undercover work," Ken said, then shot an apologetic smile at Ben. "It's top-secret, sorry; you know how Batman would act if I told you the details."

Ben nodded. "Don't sweat it. By the way, a package came for you today; it's in the kitchen."

"Thanks, Dad," Ken said, trying to distract himself from his minor panic-attack as he and his father walked down the stairs. "Hey, Dad, did you ever go undercover?"

Ben shook his head. "Most of the time, I just went alien; even if I wasn't fighting, I'd use one of my small or stealthy aliens to spy on the bad guys. Back in my old universe, I never got a chance to go undercover; I was too famous."

"Well, you're no help," Ken complained, then spotted the long, flat box on the table. "What the heck is this?"

"No idea," Ben said, "There was no return address; it just showed up. Your mother X-rayed it, and there was nothing dangerous inside, so you should just open it."

Something in Ben's tone said that he _did _know what was in the package. Ken looked at him suspiciously, but then opened up the box. He couldn't believe it. There was a freaking tuxedo inside!

"How… what…" Ken stammered.

Ben patted his son on the shoulder. "I know Batman better than you think."

…

**Gotham City, January 15, 19:45 EST**

Ken was teleported into a dark, yet relatively clean, alley, his tux as nice as it could ever be. He glanced at his watch; Valerie would be arriving any second now.

In a flash of light, she did, and when Ken got a good look at her, he froze.

"Whoa," he breathed.

Valerie was wearing a black ankle-length dress with matching high-heeled shoes and a bracelet on her left wrist. The low-cut, formfitting outfit—with a long slit up one side—left little to the imagination which, if Valerie's blush upon seeing Ken's reaction was anything to go by, she was very aware of.

"It was the only thing I had that worked for this party," she said, as if she was trying to justify her choice of clothing.

"You don't hear me complaining," Ken said, then changed the subject when Valerie coldly raised an eyebrow. "Hey, didn't Batman give you something yesterday to make us look, well, older?"

"Yeah, here you go," Valerie reached into her purse and pulled out what looked like two plastic double-diamond masks.

The masks, dubbed a 'Stealth ID-Mask', had been created by Batman and had been based on the ID masks from Ben's universe. They gave off minimal energy-emissions, and were more portable; the downside was that they didn't completely change someone's appearance, only slightly altered it.

After putting on the masks, Ken and Valerie activated them, and suddenly got a glimpse into the future.

Valerie's height hadn't changed, save for her black hair now being blond, but she looked more… mature. The final traces of her teenage years were gone, and in her place was an adult woman in her early twenties. Ken wasn't completely sure if the coy smile on her lips was because of the mask's effects, an estimation of what Valerie would look like in a few years, or if she was really smiling like that.

If she was, Valerie had a good reason. Ken had always been attractive, but as a fully-matured adult, there was an added rugged quality to him. Like Valerie, Ken wasn't any taller, indicating that he'd reached his full height, but there was an added few inches of muscle; for someone with super-strength, Ken was a little slender, but it appeared that his physique would be closer to that of Superman in a few years.

The two spent several long moments staring at each other, until Valerie got them both on track. "So, yeah, our driver should be here any minute."

She was right; soon enough, a black limo pulled up right outside the alley. Ken's super-hearing picked up four rapid knocks inside, the prearranged signal, and the two of them quickly got into the car. It was only once they were inside did they see the identity of the driver.

"Alfred?" Ken asked.

The Wayne butler turned in his seat and nodded. "Hello, Sir and Miss. I'll be your chauffer for this evening."

"Won't Boyle know that something is up if Bruce Wayne's butler is seen nearby?" Valerie asked; the identity of their driver hadn't been disclosed in the files, but she'd done enough research on Boyle's history to know that he would harbor a grudge against anyone employed by Bruce Wayne.

"I was instructed to drop you off one block away from the party," Alfred said easily, as if he'd done things like this before—and considering who he worked for, that was a distinct possibility—and smiled. "In addition, the windows are blacked out, and I will not exit the car. However, I will be waiting as soon as the party ends."

"Thanks, Alfred," Ken said; with his parents being good friends with the Wayne family, Ken had gotten to know the butler over the years, and if nothing else, the man was dependable.

"You are most welcome… Mr. Triskelion," Alfred said, using Ken's alias.

Ken rolled his eyes. "Benjamin Triskelion… who came up with _that_ name?"

"The Triskelion family is real," Valerie pointed out, "They've been making weapons in Europe since the first World War, but only for the highest bidder. They aren't the biggest name in the weapons business, but they don't go back on contracts. That's probably why Boyle wants to see them, but Batman was able to intercept their invitation; it doesn't hurt that Benjamin Triskelion actually looks like you, Ken."

"And the family is extremely rich, so even if Boyle isn't buying weapons from them, he might just be trying to get money for something else," Ken said, rolling his eyes again, "I know, I read the file."

Valerie leaned back in her seat. "Just making sure."

"At least _your _name is normal," Ken grumbled, "Natalie Blake is easy to remember."

"But it's not fun," Valerie said, "Blake is Triskelion's trophy girlfriend, and she's about as smart as a trophy. I hate pretending to be stupid."

"This mission better be worth it," Ken muttered.

…

After Alfred dropped them off, Ken and Valerie made their way to the Boyle estate, where they were seen in by Boyle's security, who let them in after scanning them for weapons. Thankfully, the modified ID masks didn't give off enough energy to be detected, and they got in without incident.

"There's Boyle," Valerie whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

Making his way towards them through a small crowd of well-dressed people, Ferris Boyle had not handled prison well. Though his suit was as immaculate as anyone else's, his face was lined and his hair was white and thinning; a gold-topped cane did nothing to hide a bad limp, though whether he'd gotten that in prison or when Batman dropped him feet-first off a three-story building was unknown.

"Mister Triskelion," Boyle said genially, holding out a weathered hand, "It's so good to finally meet you. I trust your flight was uneventful?"

As the Triskelion family had been based in Spain for the last forty years, Ken had put a lot of effort into perfecting his Spanish accent as he shook Boyle's hand.

"It was fine," Ken said, "Though with all the advances we've had in technology, it is irritating that nothing has been done about turbulence."

Boyle nodded in sympathy. "I know the feeling, but it seems you've arrived with lovely company; Miss Blake, I presume?"

Valerie giggled convincingly as Boyle took her hand and kissed it. "Thank you for inviting us, Mister Boyle, I love parties!"

"As do I, my dear," Boyle said in a patronizing tone, "Please, enjoy yourself. Mister Triskelion, if I might have a word with you and several other guests before the entertainment begins?"

"Of course," Ken said casually, then turned to Valerie. "Natalie, can you wait out here with the others while I'm gone?"

"Sure, honey," Valerie said in an ignorantly innocent voice, "Don't take too long, or I'll get lonely."

Boyle and Ken walked across the room to a door in the back; Boyle pretended to use his limp to lean in and whisper to his 'guest'.

"Having an airhead like that around must make business so much easier."

Ken thought of all the times Valerie had helped him run the Team and smiled. "Like you wouldn't believe."

…

Not long after Ken was taken to a smaller room, he and several other men and women were seated at a rectangular table. The only source of light was over Boyle, who sat at the head of the table.

"My friends, welcome," he said, nodding at each of them, "I would normally offer platitudes and praise, but I am afraid that time is not on my side, so I will be frank. I have been contacted by an… _illuminating _group, one that offers power the likes of which we could only dream of. However, in order to obtain that power, we must be willing to fund their endeavors."

Despite Boyle saying that he would be frank, most of the guests were confused by his speech. Ken, however, had an idea; a shadowy group that offered power, Boyle's allusion to illumination—he might have been talking about the Light!

"Why have you contacted _us_?" a woman asked, "We are all wealthy, but not so much as to avoid bankruptcy."

"Ah, but you have a skill that many other wealthy individuals, like Bruce Wayne, lack," Boyle said, though his face twisted at the mention of Wayne, "You know how to move funds undetected. After all, you've stayed under the Justice League's radar all these years."

Ken resisted the urge to smirk. Boyle had no idea that Bruce Wayne was more skilled at moving funds unnoticed than anyone alive.

"In addition," Boyle continued, "I am only asking for five million dollars from each of you, a sum that I know all of you can afford to part with. I assure you that the reward is well worth the investment."

"Why don't you tell us who we're giving our money to?" a man asked.

"For your own safety," Boyle answered, "I believe that men and women like us are what the world will need in the coming years, and investing this money is certainly the best way to assure a spot at the top. If you give me the money, I can tell you what I know. However, if you refuse, you can walk away, and you and your loved ones will be safe. I have been told that this offer is completely optional.

"All I ask is that you think about it," Boyle said, standing up, "For now, enjoy the party outside; treat my home as if it were your own."

Everyone else stood up and made their way to the door, but Ken felt a hand on his arm; he turned to see Boyle looking at him.

"I've met your family before," Boyle said quietly, "Things are changing, and I would like to see you and yours on the right side of things."

Ken nodded. "It is tempting, but I will have to think on this offer for a while, Mister Boyle; from your tone, I gather that there is as much to lose as there is to gain."

Boyle smiled. "I can see that you are an intelligent man, Mister Triskelion. I look forward to hearing your answer; enjoy the party."

…

Valerie normally liked undercover missions; she'd gone on a few with her father, and there was always a chance to learn something important. Tonight, however, she _hated _it; she was smart, and she was proud of it, so having to play the part of a ditzy trophy girlfriend made her want to scream. It would have at least loosened her jaw; she'd been keeping up a bright, clueless smile for over twenty minutes, and it was starting to hurt.

And the worst part was that she was learning nothing of importance! Almost everyone in the room was here as an unwitting screen for the meeting that Ken was in, so all she was hearing was a bunch of stuck-up millionaires showing off their wealth.

She took a moment to stop smiling and took another sip of champagne. Besides being underage, she wouldn't normally drink any alcohol, because it would dull her reflexes while on a mission. However, her parents kept a stash of pills that negated the alcohol's effects on the body, so she'd grabbed one before she'd been teleported. To anyone watching her—and there were quite a few; jealous women and lusting men—it would seem that she was going to get drunk very soon; she was on her fifth glass.

"Enjoying yourself?" Ken whispered in her ear, while also putting an arm over her shoulders, which was good, because Valerie hadn't heard him approaching, and his arm was the only thing keeping her from jumping.

"Not in the slightest," Valerie murmured, leaning into his side, "Did you get anything good?"

"Nothing concrete," Ken told her, "I'll tell you more when we're out of here; the party should be over in a couple hours."

"Think we can look for more evidence?" Valerie asked.

Ken glanced around; most of the guests were now spreading out to look at the expensive paintings, statues and artifacts that Boyle had in his home. It was probably less about admiring what the man had, and more about how they could one-up him.

"Sure," Ken said, the ID mask's hologram hiding the glow of his eyes' X-ray vision, "And I know just where to start."

…

It took longer than either of them would have liked, but in order to keep up appearances, Ken had to look like he was escorting his drunk girlfriend upstairs. In reality, they were heading to a small, nondescript room in the back of the second floor; Ken had spotted a lead-lined safe in a secret compartment, which had both his and Valerie's curiosity piqued.

Fortunately, the room was far from the other guests, and Boyle apparently didn't have surveillance cameras, so they didn't have to worry about being seen while Ken phased through the locked door and opened it from the inside.

"Nice place," Valerie commented, looking around; the room was covered in opulence, from the Persian rug to the bed whose frame was inlaid with gold, but she suspected it was all there to hide the safe. Nothing in the room looked used.

"Keep an eye out while I open the safe," Valerie continued, moving the rug aside and working on the combination of the safe.

"Got it," Ken said, closing the door and locking it; he kept his X-ray vision active and didn't move, but after a while, he asked, "So, barring any sudden missions, how does next Friday sound for a date?"

"Really?" Valerie sounded incredulous, but didn't look up from her work, "You're asking me this now?"

"What? I'm curious."

"Um… yeah, I'm free after school. Same thing we had planned for tonight?"

"Sounds—oh, crap."

"Excuse me?"

"There's someone coming," Ken said, ignoring Valerie's outburst, "Looks like Boyle's security; he's got a key!"

Valerie's mind raced as she quickly covered the safe with the rug. "Unlock the door!"

With no time to question her, Ken did as he was told. "Now what?"

Valerie bit her lip. "Come here."

As soon as Ken was close enough, Valerie grabbed him by the front of his shirt, spun him around and then pushed him onto the bed. A second later, she was on top of him, quickly rumpling his suit and her dress; then she pressed herself against him as tightly as possible and started kissing him.

A few seconds after they began, the door opened, and the guard saw two people making out on the bed. He considered breaking it up, but he felt awkward enough as it was. Quietly, he closed the door and left; two drunk guests were hardly going to start any real trouble, after all.

After he was gone, Valerie got up and smoothed out her dress. "Whew, that was close. Ken, you can go back to keeping a lookout. Uh, Ken? Hello?"

Ken was unresponsive; he lay on the bed with glazed eyes and a goofy smile.

Valerie scowled, then snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Ken!"

"Wha—?" Ken sat up. "Oh. Sorry. Um, what?"

Valerie rolled her eyes, then jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "Lookout. Be one."

Ken nodded dumbly, using his X-ray vision again while absently fixing his suit.

After a moment, he asked, "So, if two people who are going out have a fake-out make-out, is it a normal make-out?"

"Shut up."

…

A few minutes later, Ken and Valerie snuck out of the room, the former locking the door and phasing through it once the latter was outside. Valerie had cracked the safe and found only a flash drive; her wide bracelet was actually a hidden holo-computer, which she used to download the contents, but they didn't have time to see what they'd found.

For the next couple of hours, they spent their time acting like everyone else. Fortunately, they were able to avoid Boyle during that time and left without incident once the party was over. When they were picked up by Alfred, they said nothing, which worried the butler somewhat.

"I hope that the mission was a success," he said, breaking the tense silence.

"Possibly," Valerie said quickly.

"Hopefully," Ken said at almost the same time.

Alfred looked into the mirror to see that neither teen was looking at the other; he was smart enough to realize that something embarrassing must have happened.

It was enough to make him smile. First it had been Dick and Barbara, then Bruce and Diana, and now it was Ken and Valerie; he couldn't wait to see what kind of awkwardness Jason and Koriand'r would get into.

…

**Mount Justice, January 16, 00:34 EST**

After dropping off the contents of the flash drive to Batman and reporting Ken's suspicions of Boyle collaborating with the Light, the younger heroes decided to stay in the Cave for the night. It was late, both were tired, and it wasn't uncommon for some of the Team to stay in their base instead of returning home.

Ken was in his room, his jacket and tie thrown over his chair, while he lay on the bed. Doing so reminded him of what had happened during the mission; sure, he and Valerie had made out in the past, but what had almost happened was far from what either of them was ready for. At least, that's what he'd thought; after getting over the initial shock, Ken hadn't minded, and had even started enjoying it.

He shrugged. _Something to look forward to one day, _he thought.

A knock on the door dragged him out of his thoughts. "Come in!"

The door opened, revealing Valerie. She was still wearing her dress, but she'd taken off her high heels.

"Hey, Ken," she said, her cheeks tinged pink, "Can I come in?"

Ken sat up and moved over. "Sure. Did you need something?"

Valerie sat down next to him, but didn't look him in the eye. "Actually, I need your help with something."

"And that would be…?" Ken asked.

Valerie hesitated, then took a deep breath and lay down on the bed. "I want to know if you snore."

Ken blinked. "Huh?"

"I want to know if you snore," Valerie repeated, her voice completely casual, even as her blush intensified, "So lie down and go to sleep."

Ken opened his mouth to say something, closed it, then opened it again, but no words came out.

"No one else would find out," Valerie offered.

"Your dad will _kill _me!" Ken got out at last.

Valerie smiled. "We're just sleeping, Ken, nothing else; I don't think that either of us are, um, ready for _that_."

"Yeah, but still…" Ken said uncertainly.

"Ken Tennyson," Valerie pouted, "are you really going to refuse a pretty girl asking to spend the night with you?"

Ken realized that, no, he would not; at least, as long as said pretty girl was Valerie. Tentatively, he lay next to her and pulled the sheets over them. Valerie kissed him on the cheek, then rested her head on his shoulder.

"Good night," she said, then closed her eyes; a moment later, she felt lips press against her forehead.

"Good night," Ken whispered back.

…

**San Francisco, 09:45 PST**

Ken teleported into his living room and looked around; there was no one there. He headed to the stairs to go to his room—

"Good morning, Ken."

_Crap, _Ken thought, then turned to see his parents stepping into the living room from the kitchen.

"Um, hi?"

"How was your mission?" Kara asked, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and a grin on her face.

_How could she possibly know what happened? _Ken asked himself. "Fine… found some stuff that might lead to the Light, why?"

Kara looked over at Ben. "Secret missions with his girlfriend, in fancy clothes, no less, coming back early in the morning… he can see why we'd be interested, right?"

"Don't worry, Ken," Ben said, "We won't tell Question or Huntress anything _embarrassing_."

Ken's face could have been carved from stone. "Nothing. Happened."

Kara pouted as Ken began walking up the stairs. "Oh, you're no fun."

Once Ken was gone, Ben looked over at his wife. "Did you honestly think we'd get him to spill anything?"

Kara shrugged. "Not really, it's just fun to tease him. Still…"

"What?" Ben asked, not liking the sly look on Kara's face.

"You never took _me _on any mysterious rendezvous when _we _were dating," Kara said with an arched eyebrow, "Or _ever_, now that I think about it!"

Ben sighed, making a mental note to take Kara to Paris for their anniversary.

**So, not very long, but it was mostly fluff-oriented, and it's hard to write really long chapters of nothing but fluff. I just like Ken and Seeker together, and I've only had two chapters in Part 1 that were focused on them as a couple. This is going to be a running theme of these one-shots: they'll be focused on the Team's couples, though they are going to be connected by a running sub-plot concerning Ferris Boyle. Sort of a story-arc spread out between other arcs.**

**And yes, those Stealth ID-Masks are going to be returning.**

**Anyway, this was the deep breath before the next arc, which will probably be 4 or 5 chapters long. I won't spoil much beyond the teaser, but it's an homage to what almost was.**

**Next Chapter: The Forever People return! The Team wage battle against gods! An old enemy shows its face… but is everything as it seems?**

**(I know it's belated, but this quote is for Leonard Nimoy, whom we all miss)**

**Muffins… the final frontier.**


	4. Gods, Demons, and Heroes, Part 1

**BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS BELONG TO ME, AS DOES THE RIGHT TO HAVE THEM KICK NEW GOD BUTT… OR GET THEIR BUTTS KICKED, WHATEVER.**

**I am so sorry that this update took so long. Life got in the way, as did Cycles Upon Cycles, one of my other stories.**

**So, some of you are going to be confused by this arc, and will wonder why I considered it. I tell you now: wait until the post-chapter A/N, because I have reasons. They might not be great, but they're **_**mine**_**, dammit!**

Unlimited Justice, Part 2

Chapter 4

Gods, Demons, and Heroes, Part 1

**New York City, January 25, 07:45 EST**

"You ever miss this?" Kid Flash asked as he dodged a hail of gunfire.

"Miss what, getting shot at?" Warhawk asked back, even as he punched a gangster in the face. "I'm cool with _not_, actually."

"No, not that," Kid Flash said, then gestured at the dozen gangsters that were trying to get away, "Normal superhero stuff; you know, like fighting run-of-the-mill crooks."

Robin shrugged, even as he dislocated a man's wrist before knocking him out. "I don't mind the way things are. It's certainly interesting."

"Besides," Ken added, as he cut off the thugs' escape with a wall of Mana, "could you honestly say that you'd be happy going back to _just _this? You'd go crazy from boredom in an hour."

Kid Flash spent four seconds knocking out the remaining criminals, then shrugged. "Okay, yeah, but I'd at least like a _normal _mission—no secret societies, no conspiracies, just a clear-cut, black and white, good-versus-evil kind of day."

Ken shared a blank look with Robin and Warhawk, then raised an eyebrow at Kid Flash. "Dude, the covert ops stuff is the reason we're a team in the first place. If you want to go back to the usual stuff, you'll have to join the Justice League."

"Oh, come on!" Kid Flash said, throwing his hands up, "We're a team of _superheroes_! It's practically in the job description that we have to do some huge brawl with a bunch of bad guys!"

"Just wait a few months for Raven's dad to show up," Warhawk said, "Then you'll get your wish."

Kid Flash opened his mouth to retort, then considered it. "Covert ops, or giant demon who's going to destroy the universe… well, when you put it like that, I think I'm good."

"Now you're getting it!" Robin mock-cheered, "For a guy who has a thousand thoughts a minute, you're kinda slow sometimes."

"Bite me, Boy Blunder."

Ken shook his head with mixture of fondness and exasperation as the two got into an argument. "You ever miss the pre-Team days?" he asked Warhawk.

"Well, I _do _like an honest fight," Warhawk said, "but now I'm used to working with the Team. I'm pretty happy."

"Same here," Ken said, and was about to break up Robin and Kid Flash when his communicator beeped. "Ken here; go ahead."

"_Ken, it's Superboy," _his cousin said tensely, _"I need the entire Team at the Cave ASAP—a Boom-Tube just opened up right here!"_

"KF, Robin, shut up!" Ken barked, then activated his comms again. "Superboy, have Ship send an emergency recall signal to the Team, but teleport us over right now!"

"_On it."_

As the four of them began teleporting away, Ken glanced at Warhawk. "You wanted an honest fight?"

"I know," Warhawk sighed, "We should learn to never leave ourselves open like that."

…

**Mount Justice, 08:00 EST**

Ken, Robin, Warhawk and Kid Flash didn't waste any time; as soon as they finished teleporting, they rushed to the Cave's briefing room. Superboy, Raven, Sphere, Wolf and Ship were keeping a wary distance away from the glowing portal that was the Boom-Tube.

"You guys okay?" Ken asked, not taking his own eyes off the portal.

"We're fine," Raven answered, "It just showed up, but it hasn't done anything."

"Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" Warhawk asked.

"Do I look like an expert on New God technology?" Raven asked her boyfriend—sort of; the relationship between them was murky for everyone else—archly.

Before Warhawk could try justifying his question, Ship perked his head up. "Ship, ship!"

"Wow, they got here fast," Ken commented; a moment later, the rest of the Team teleported in.

Seeker took a moment to look at the Boom-Tube before speaking. "I see what the emergency is."

Ken nodded, then noticed something odd. "Why is your hat on backwards?"

The only part of Seeker that moved was her arm as it turned her hat around. "I had to change really fast."

"So, we're all here," Safari said, "Now what?"

As if in response, the Boom-Tube began expanding until its edges almost reached the ceiling, then it moved towards the Team. As soon as they were all sent to the other end of the Boom-Tube, the Earth-side one collapsed, leaving the Cave empty.

…

**New Genesis, 10:21 (Earth Time)**

The Boom-Tube deposited the Team in a heap, but they were quickly up and on their feet, ready to fight their kidnappers. At first, they only noticed that they were in a wide, hilly area covered in grass; they could have been anywhere on Earth. The only thing that clued them in that they weren't was the giant floating city several miles away.

Once they had their bearings and they actually saw who'd taken them, only Superboy fully relaxed.

"Hey, guys," he said, sounding tired.

Of the entire Team, only Superboy had met the Forever People, but he'd given a detailed description of his and Jen's encounter with the young gods, so the Earth-based heroes had a good idea of who was who, and what to expect from them. According to Superboy, the team of young gods had good intentions, but they were a little… weird. From the lack of surprise on their faces, it seemed that the Forever People knew who was on the Team, though how they got that information was anyone's guess.

"Greetings, Superboy," the New God, Dreamer, said politely, "I hope the trip to New Genesis was comfortable."

Artemis' cold stare could have frozen lava. "Yes, I love being eaten by an alien portal and taken somewhere against my will."

Another of the Forever People, Bear, smiled brightly. "Oh, good! That was my idea!"

Before Artemis could tell Bear, rather pointedly, that she was being sarcastic, Superboy shook his head, telling her to drop it. Besides, there were more important matters to address.

"So, why did you take us to…" Ken trailed off as he realized what Dreamer had said, "Wait, did you say New Genesis? You took us from Earth?"

Vykin, leader of the Forever People, looked confused. "You have never been on another planet before?"

Ken gestured to Starfire and Miss Martian. "Aside from when we all went to the Watchtower, only those two have been somewhere other than Earth."

"What about when you went to your dad's universe?" Safari asked.

Ken waved a hand dismissively. "That was still Earth, that doesn't count. Anyway, back to my first question: why are we here?"

The Forever People, at first amused by the Team's reaction to their sudden arrival, now sobered.

"We need your help," Vykin said, "We considered asking the Justice League, but from what we understand, you are more suited for… subtle tasks."

From the way he said 'subtle', Ken wasn't sure Vykin mean just being quiet. "I think you should start at the beginning."

…

The Forever People brought the Team to the base of a large hill, not far from a forest. Vykin waited until the heroes were settled before speaking.

"Two days ago, we detected a Boom-Tube on new Genesis; of the six New Gods sent to investigate, only two came back, and not in one piece. They had been attacked by forces from Apokolips."

"Um, I thought it was impossible for Apokoliptans to leave their planet," Sergeant Marvel turned to Ken, "I mean, that's what your dad did, right?"

Ken nodded and looked at the Forever People. "Are you _sure _they were from Apokolips?"

Serifan nodded grimly. "They're some o' Darkseid's strongest fighters."

"But the words of Alien X stated that Darkseid and his forces couldn't leave the planet," Vykin continued, "However, there is a loophole: if someone from Apokolips broke their oath to Darkseid, severing all ties, they no longer qualify as his forces. Most are too afraid or too weak to risk Darkseid's wrath, but the six that are here now… rumor has it that even Darkseid was wary of their combined power, and put them in stasis between missions."

That made the Team more than a little nervous; Darkseid had been so powerful that Ben had had to use Alien X to defeat him, and these six New Gods were strong enough to be considered a threat?

"Who are we dealing with?" Ken asked.

Dreamer waved a hand, and an image shimmered into existence. It was of a tall, dark-skinned man with silver hair and black tattoos. He wore a long coat over his bare chest and carried a long staff topped by a skull wearing a headdress of feathers.

"We don't know much about them, as their activities rarely had anything to do with New Genesis. All we can tell you are their names, and a few guesses about what they can do." Dreamer said, "This is Brain, their leader. As the leader of this group, we believe that he is the strongest, and likely the most intelligent."

"His name is _Brain_," Kid Flash said, "It's kind of a giveaway—ow!"

"Shut it," Artemis hissed, then nodded at Dreamer. "Sorry, his mouth moves faster than his brain."

Dreamer waved her hand again, and the image turned into a thin young man with black hair that turned white at the ends. He was pale-skinned and sat on what looked like a flying carpet.

"This one is the most mysterious," Vykin said, "Other than his name, Midnight, we know nothing about him."

"Other than the fact that he's really dangerous," Bear added unhelpfully.

The image changed into a man with spiky blond hair, wearing an outfit similar to what racecar drivers wore.

"This one is a little more obvious," Dreamer said, "Judging from his name, Racer, and his appearance, we believe that his powers are speed-related."

"Then Kid Flash probably has his number," Robin said, nodding encouragingly at the resident speedster.

When the image transformed again, Ken was glad that all of the guys on the Team, himself included, had girlfriends to keep them in line, because the next image was of a beautiful woman. She wore a short, white dressed lined with feathers. Her clothes were just a few shades lighter than her hair. Behind her, what looked like a metal eyeball floated menacingly.

"This is Angel," Dreamer said, and for the first time since the Team met her, her tone sounded distasteful. "We don't know what her powers are, but we know that she's the most sadistic of the group. She likes to 'play' with her victims before killing them."

Whatever attraction the guys might have felt died a quick and painful death.

Thankfully, they didn't have to dwell on it long. The image changed into a young man with a wild grin and pointed ears. He wore a white coat and dark pants, while a giant purple snake coiled around his feet.

"This 'ere varmint is Cobra," Serifan said, "He and his snake 'ave killed a lot of people, and from what we know, he's never been hit."

That was impressive to the Team; even Flash had taken hits, even when moving at his fastest.

The image changed for a final time, turning into a large, rotund man with long, flowing hair. His face and hands were what really caught everyone's attention, though; rather than curving naturally, he was covered in angles, like the facets of a cut gem.

"And this is Hoteye," Vykin said, "Of all of them, he is the only one to take mercenary work on the side. He will do anything, no matter how heinous, as long as he gets paid.

"Each of them is exceptionally powerful, but together, they're unstoppable. They are known as the Six Demons of Apokolips."

Serifan noticed Raven twitch. "Somethin' wrong?"

"No," Raven said, her voice emotionless.

"Not to sound insensitive," Ken said, "but why are you calling for help at all? Doesn't New Genesis have an army of gods? Can't _you _go after these Six Demons?"

Vykin sighed. "Normally, we would. However, Highfather believes that they are after something called 'Nirvana'. We asked what it was, but we weren't told; however, right before we were told to get help from Earth, Highfather began moving all citizens of New Genesis into the upper atmosphere.

"We volunteered to stop the Six Demons, or at the very least, deny them their prize. As powerful as we are, we can't do this alone. We _need _your help."

Ken looked at his teammates for a moment, then turned to the Forever People. "Give us a minute." He led the Team a short distance away. "So, what do you guys think? I'm taking a vote on this one; if the majority says we stay, we'll stay, but if any of you want to leave, I won't stop you."

"I say we help them," Superboy said immediately, "They did us a huge favor when they were on Earth. We owe them."

"And Earth _does _have an alliance with New Genesis," Robin pointed out, "I don't think we can just back out of something like this."

"We're going up against _gods_, though," Raven countered, "Can we handle that?"

"We took down Kobra—the one on Earth, I mean—and _he _turned into a god," Safari said, "And there weren't as many of us then as there are now."

"I think we can do it," Cyborg said, his tone unusually serious, "We've handled craziness before, and even if we're fighting _against _gods, we're also fighting _with _gods."

"Even if this Nirvana thing scares these guys," Artemis said, "if we keep it out of the bad guys' hands, it won't matter how scary it is."

"It's also a good chance to strengthen our alliance with New Genesis," Warhawk said, "I don't think either side has ever asked the other for help, so it's an opportunity to see if we can make the alliance really work."

"These people are scared," Miss Martian said, "They're scared of Nirvana and these Six Demons. Isn't it our duty to help people when they're in distress?"

"Miss Martian is right," Starfire said, "We cannot back down just because the task is challenging."

"I say we go for it," Sergeant Marvel said, "It's the right thing to do, enough said."

Kid Flash grinned. "Hey, I _was _hoping we'd get a straight-up good-versus-evil fight. I'm in."

All eyes turned to Seeker, who had been silent since they'd arrived on New Genesis. She crossed her arms and sighed.

"We know next to nothing about our opponents, we don't know their endgame, and our supposed allies kidnapped us so that we would help them. There's no time to plan and it's unlikely we'll get any backup.

"What are we waiting for?"

Ken grinned at her, and then at the rest of the Team. "So, anyone backing out?"

No one moved. Ken nodded proudly, then walked over to the Forever People. "Okay, we're in. Where do we start?"

The New Gods smiled, and Vykin waved his hand at the nearby forest. "All we know about Nirvana, and the Six Demons, is that they are inside the forest. Of all places on New Genesis, this was the only one Highfather forbid anyone to enter, and now we know Nirvana is the reason why."

"Got it," Ken said, "Any particular way you want to play this?"

"Fighting the Demons together is suicide, no matter how much power we have," Vykin said, "It would be better if we split into smaller groups, separate them and take them down individually."

"There should be a New God on each group," Seeker said, "You guys know more about New God abilities than we do; you might be able to identify a weakness during a fight."

"Wait a sec," Kid Flash cut in, "There are six bad guys, but only five New Gods; what if the one group that doesn't have someone from New Genesis with it runs into one of these Demons?"

"Don't worry," Seeker assured him, "Whatever squad Superboy is on will also have Sphere. She's from New Genesis, and Superboy can understand her." With that settled, she turned to Vykin. "We also need to know more about Nirvana; is there any way to access your people's records?"

Vykin seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, then held out a Motherbox. "We cannot disobey Highfather by searching ourselves, but you are under no such oath. Ask for the archives, and it will bring them up, but you will have to find them manually."

Ken handed it to Seeker. "You're the best at finding information. Just focus on that.

"As for the rest of us, we're going to need to stay in constant communication if we're splitting up. Miss Martian, I want you to establish a psychic link, then go with Ship and Seeker; stay in stealth-mode and above the trees. We can't risk losing communications, so you'll have to stay out of the fight."

"Great," Robin said, "so who's with who?"

Vykin calmly looked at Ken. "From what I have heard of you, Ken 10, I believe that I can trust the fate of my friends and I to you. We will follow your lead."

Ken closed his eyes for a moment, taking into account the Team's strengths and weaknesses, subtracting Seeker, Miss Martian and Ship, and then thinking about what the Forever People could do.

"Robin, go with Starfire and Bear. Superboy, you've got Sphere and Wolf. Kid Flash, go with Artemis and Vykin. Warhawk, you're with Raven and Dreamer. Cyborg, you've got Safari and Serifan. I'll go with Sergeant Marvel and Moonrider."

In Ken's mind, this was the best way to configure the squads. Each group had at least one person who was fast, tough and capable of both hand-to-hand and ranged combat. From the corner of his eye, he saw Seeker nod approvingly.

"You guys know the drill by now," Ken said, "Fight smart, don't hesitate to call for backup, and watch each other's backs. Let's do this!"

The Team and the Forever People nodded, grinned or pumped fists, but said nothing; despite the danger, this was the sort of thing they were born to do.

After Miss Martian established the psychic link, she and Seeker boarded Ship and took off. The rest of them split up into their assigned squads, but stayed close as they entered the forest

…

"They're coming," Cobra said, deeper within the forest, "I can hear them."

"Are they a threat?" Brain asked, though he looked wholly unconcerned.

Cobra smiled. "They've got a good plan and they're organized, I'll give 'em that. Too bad it won't mean squat against us."

"Great," Racer grunted, "Let's take them out fast, then we can get Nirvana sooner rather than later."

"I agree," Hoteye said, smiling widely, "Time is money, after all! Oh, yeah!"

Angel shrugged. "I suppose I won't take my time, just this once. I'll just have to squeeze as much fun out of them as I can."

Midnight said nothing, asleep as he was on his flying carpet, but the others still paused, as if giving him time to voice his opinion.

"Very well," Brain said, reaching into his pocket, "Just remember: we need the girl taken alive. All of this—years of planning, betraying Apokolips, attacking New Genesis—will be for nothing if she dies."

When Brain pulled his hand out of his pocket, he was clutching a small chunk of metal; on one side, there was a symbol.

Three dots, arranged in a triangle, with two lines connecting them.

"Without that one, we cannot bring back the one who will unlock Nirvana for us."

…

**The Watchtower, 11:14 EST**

As much as Ben disliked Doctor Fate, he couldn't help but speak up when he saw her shudder.

"Something wrong, Doc?"

The eyes of Zatanna, now controlled by Fate, narrowed; if the rest of her face hadn't been concealed by the helmet, Ben would have seen her frown.

"_I feel a sense of impending danger," _she said, _"There will be an imbalance between Order and Chaos. A storm is coming, and I sense that your son will be at the center of it all."_

With that, Doctor Fate walked away, leaving Ben feeling troubled. "Hey, Mister Terrific!" he called out to the other Leaguer on monitor-duty.

"Yeah, Ben?"

"Can you cover for me for a few minutes?" Ben asked, "I need to check something at the Cave."

Mister Terrific raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Sure, just get back here before Batman shows up. You know how he gets."

Ben barely acknowledged him as he walked swiftly over to the teleporter. He had been gone for less than two minutes when he contacted Mister Terrific on the comms.

"_T, get a team down to the Cave!" _he shouted, _"The Team is gone, and the computer is registering Boom-Tube energies!"_

Mister Terrific's hands were already flying across the keyboard of his computer, while also contacting other Leaguers. "Superman, Wonder Woman, get as many Leaguers as you can and get to the Cave; everyone else, remain on standby, but prepare to deploy. We might have a problem with Apokolips…"

…

**Mount Justice, 12:42 EST**

After over an hour of searching the empty base, the Justice League barely had anything to show for their efforts.

"We know a Boom-Tube was here," Wonder Woman summarized, "and according to the Team's computers, an emergency recall was sent out, which the entire Team responded to. Then the Boom-Tube's energy increased, and that was it; they were gone."

"But we don't know who took them, where they are, or what their condition is," Ben sighed in frustration.

"They might not have been kidnapped," Superman said, trying to be optimistic, "They could have left willingly."

"Without telling the League that a freaking _Boom-Tube _had shown up in their house?" Ben asked sarcastically. "They're headstrong, not stupid. I say we get the League, go to Apokolips and tear the place up until we find them."

"Apokolips isn't the only place that uses Boom-Tubes," Wonder Woman said, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder, "We'll contact New Genesis and see if someone on their end is responsible."

Ben nodded, and the other two Leaguers left him alone. His thoughts drifted to what Doctor Fate had said, about his son being at the center of things.

Ben groaned. "Ken, what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

**Again, sorry this took so long. Between my other stories (mostly Cycles Upon Cycles), a bad case of writer's block for this story, and real life, this took a while. However, now I have my momentum back, so I'll try to have this arc finished in a month or two.**

**Now, here's a little story for you. A long time ago, I tried my hand at a crossover between Ben 10 and one of my favorite anime, Fairy Tail. It was called Ultimate Fairy, and I got a few chapters uploaded. However, due to my inexperience with flames at the time, coupled with death-threats (really, who threatens a fan fiction writer with death?) and a lack of interest in continuing the story, I gave it up for adoption. It was then taken up by my friend Ultimate10, who has since done some really great work on it, taking it in directions I never considered.**

**This arc, for those who haven't figured it out by now, is based on an arc in Fairy Tail. There have already been major changes, such as making the Oracion Seis New Gods, rather than Wizards, and there will be plenty more as things progress. This is more of an homage to what could have been.**

**And before anyone freaks out, I know that this chapter is shorter than usual, but I have a reason. Usually, the first chapter of each of my stories is shorter than the rest. However, each arc in this story is like a small story unto itself, so the first chapter of each arc is going to be a bit smaller.**

**Other than that, things are going to really pick up the pace. It's good to be back!**

**Next Chapter: Round 1 with the Six Demons, a race against time to save a friend, and an old enemy holds the fate of the entire universe in his hands.**

**How can you stop all this?**

**Like the old Muffin said: Together.**


	5. Gods, Demons, and Heroes, Part 2

**BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY OC'S BELONG TO ME. IT'S NOT SLAVERY, IT'S INDENTURED SERVITUDE, I SWEAR!**

**A lot of you sent me PMs asking what the point of this arc is. I'm not going to spoil anything, but if you've read my other stories, especially my more recent ones, everything I write has a point, even if it's not apparent at the time, or even for a few chapters. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.**

Unlimited Justice, Part 2

Chapter 5

Gods, Demons, and Heroes, Part 2

**New Genesis, January 25, 13:30 EST (Earth Time)**

The Team and the Forever People cautiously made their way through the forest, aware that they could be ambushed at any moment. If they ended up fighting the Six Demons, they would have to divide them up into three-on-one fights; fighting all six while they were in close proximity to each other was suicide.

Ken, Superboy and Wolf were using their enhanced senses to stay alert for the enemy, and Cyborg and Sphere were using their sensors to do the same, while Raven used her magic to sense incoming hostile feelings. Up above the tree line, Ship used his own sensors, but otherwise didn't draw attention to himself.

The first few minutes were tense, and it only got worse as they moved further in. Vykin's comment didn't help things.

"It is odd," he said, "The Six Demons usually do not wait this long to fight; they don't need to ambush their foes to defeat them."

"Thanks, way to make us feel inadequate," Kid Flash grumbled.

{Guys, we're supposed to be using the link,} Ken said telepathically, {Shut up.}

Vykin nodded, accepting the rebuke with good grace, while Kid Flash's mouth closed with an audible click. It was followed by a dull smack as Artemis hit him upside the head. Ken didn't look her way, but he gave the archer a thumbs-up as they walked.

{Miss Martian,} Ken continued, {has Ship picked up anything yet?}

{Sorry, Ken, he hasn't,} Miss Martian replied, {The energy around this planet, and this area in particular, are messing with his long-range sensors. We'll only be able to alert you if they're close. You and Superboy will probably see them coming before we do.}

{Understood, just do what you can,} Ken said, {Seeker, any luck with the archives?}

They all heard Seeker's frustrated growl. {Trust me, if I found anything about Nirvana, I'd tell you, but this data is insane! It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack in a 'Where's Waldo' book.}

The Team couldn't help but glance at the Forever People to see if they took offense, but they didn't react. Ken couldn't blame Seeker's reaction, though; more than one scientist on Earth had gone insane trying to understand anything made by the New Gods.

{Well, keep at it,} Ken advised, {I know you'll find it eventually.}

Seeker grumbled something, but even over the link it was incomprehensible; everyone silently agreed that it was better to not know. Still, they were all glad of the partial distraction; it helped reduce the growing anxiety they'd been feeling.

In the back of their minds, they all knew that it would get worse.

…

"Now?" Racer asked, twitching at the chance to move.

"Just remember not to harm the girl," Brain reminded them all, "Other than that… let us show these children why facing the Six Demons is such a fool's errand!"

…

The word 'incoming' was barely out of Ken's mouth before they were attacked. Before even Kid Flash could react, a red-and-white blur slammed into him, sending him crashing into Vykin. The same blur knocked down Robin, Artemis and Safari, but ran around Ken when the half-Kryptonian surrounded himself with electricity.

The blur retreated a short distance away from the group, where it stood still long enough to reveal Racer. He was soon joined by the rest of the Six Demons.

For the heroes, this was as bad as it could get; their entire plan hinged on keeping the Six Demons _away _from each other, and that plan had just gone down the toilet.

{Get ready, guys,} Ken said, discouraged but not willing to give up, {We can still take 'em!}

"So, _these _are the so-called heroes that Highfather has recruited?" Brain looked at the group and sneered. "Pathetic. I was expecting more."

The Team and the Forever People bristled at that. "Come get some, then!" Ken shouted.

"Oh, we'll deal with you in a moment," Brain said, then pointed his staff towards the sky. "But first, I'll deal with your friends."

Sickly green energy gathered in front of the skull mounted on the staff, then lanced forward to smash into the still-invisible Ship's underside… and then out through the top!

Even though he was two hundred feet above them, they could all hear the alien's cry of agony; the cloak failed, and the Team watched helplessly as he crashed deeper into the forest, Seeker and Miss Martian still inside.

Ken tried to contact them through the link, but it had been severed; either Miss Martian was unconscious, or… well, Ken didn't want to think about the alternative.

Instead, he focused on the one responsible for what had happened. "Take them down!"

Enraged, the Team and the Forever People attacked. Ken, Sergeant Marvel and Moonrider went after Brain; Ken fired a blast of Mana, Sergeant Marvel shot bolts of magic lightning, and Moonrider launched beams of blue energy. Brain deflected the attacks from the first two with a sweeping wave of green energy, then simply leaned out of the way of Moonrider's attacks. He aimed his staff at them, firing smaller bursts of the same energy; Moonrider was quickly smashed into the ground, and Ken, who normally had no trouble absorbing energy, soon followed. Only Sergeant Marvel was spared.

…

Superboy, Wolf and Sphere attacked Cobra and his giant snake, but despite attacking from three different directions, the man avoided their attacks easily, as if he were taking a casual stroll.

"You're so noisy," he remarked, "I can hear every move you make."

With a massive uppercut, he smashed Superboy fifty feet away, the Boy of Steel colliding with every branch along the way. Without turning, Cobra's foot caught a snarling Wolf in the head with a reverse-kick, which turned into backhanded blow that knocked Sphere away.

…

Cyborg, Safari and Serifan used their respective weapons to shoot at Racer, but he was simply too fast. Even Cyborg's advanced optic and next-generation processor couldn't keep up with the man's moves.

"Sorry, kids," Racer taunted, driving a knee into the Human half of Cyborg's head, a fist into Serifan's face and an elbow into Safari's stomach, all in the blink of an eye, "You're just too slow!"

…

Meanwhile, Robin, Starfire and Bear were a little confused. They had gone after Midnight, but the pale-skinned man just sat on his flying carpet, slumped over; after a moment, they could hear him snoring.

"He is… asleep?" Starfire asked. "That is most unusual."

"Who cares?" Bear demanded, "Let's get him now!"

The young god ripped a boulder from the ground and hurled it at Midnight; to their surprise, the rock split in two, inches away from Midnight's face, and the two pieces curved around him to smash into a tree. The astonishing thing, however, was that Midnight hadn't moved a muscle.

"Try this," Robin said, throwing a handful of explosive disks. Instead of simply curving around Midnight, the disks altered their trajectory and hurtled towards Robin. Seeing what was about to happen, Starfire and Bear jumped in the way of the counterattack; the explosives weren't enough to seriously injure them, but they were knocked out, as was Robin, who was caught by the shockwave.

…

"Any ideas?" Artemis asked, firing an arrow at Hoteye. The large man raised a hand to his face and pointed his forefinger and middle finger at a respective eye; as soon as he did, the ground turned to a liquid-like substance and rose up, catching the arrow before it hit him.

"I believe that I can counter his moves," Vykin said, making a pushing motion with his hands and sending a wave of earth towards Hoteye.

"You have a lot to learn before you think you can match me," Hoteye declared, and the incoming earth turned to liquid and pooled at his feet. "Of course, you will not live long enough to reach that point. Oh, yeah!"

Unable to get in close without falling into the liquid earth, Kid Flash spun his arms around and sent a pair of tornados Hoteye's way. Once again, a wave of earth rose up and solidified, creating a barrier for Hoteye. A moment later, Kid Flash, Artemis and Vykin were pulled down into the ground until their chins were slightly submerged; unfortunately, while Kid Flash could vibrate his molecules to pass through solid objects, he didn't know how to move himself up.

…

"We're getting hosed," Raven commented, her normally emotionless tone tinged with urgency as she dodged bolts of energy from the metallic eye that hovered around Angel, "It's just us and Sergeant Marvel!"

"Check again," Angel gloated, "It's just you and the false angel and Sergeant Marvel."

Raven and Warhawk glanced behind them; sure enough, Dreamer had been hit by one of the energy-bolts that they'd been dodging. That moment of distraction was all Angel needed. In a flash of light, the metal eyeball turned into a large cross-shaped sword, which she grabbed and swung in a wide arc. The blade was slowed by a barrier that Raven had cast at the last second, but it the attack still had enough force behind it to smash both heroes into the ground.

Angel walked over to Raven and sighed. "Such a shame. I could have so much fun with this one, but I suppose sacrifices must be made."

…

"Surrender, girl," Brain demanded, calmly ducking a punch from Sergeant Marvel, "Your little friends have fallen. You are alone."

"I won't quit!" Sergeant Marvel said, "It's not over until you beat me!"

"We could do that," Brain admitted, "We have that kind of power. However, if you persist in fighting, then Angel will kill your friend."

Sergeant Marvel risked a glance behind her. Sure enough, Angel was holding Raven up by her hair, a massive sword at her throat. From the look on the woman's face, she'd kill Raven without hesitation.

Sergeant Marvel bit her lip as she turned back to Brain. "You'll let her go if I surrender?"

Brain smiled. "I give you my word that if you come with us, neither that girl nor the rest of your friends will be harmed. Now, please turn back to your Human form and come with us."

At first, Sergeant Marvel was surprised that Brain even knew she _could _transform; however, with her friends' lives in the balance, she couldn't risk stalling for time by asking how he knew.

She sighed. "Shazam."

After a bolt of lightning struck, Sergeant Marvel was gone, replaced by Mary Batson.

Brain nodded in satisfaction. "Come, let us go and fulfill our destiny."

Cobra forced Mary's arms behind her back and put a hand over her mouth. "Try transforming again, or anything funny at all, and I'll rip your throat out."

As Brain opened a Boom-Tube, Mary quickly looked behind her to see her teammates and friends. She could only hope that what she was doing was the right thing.

…

Ken stirred, then groaned as he sat up; there weren't many types of energy he couldn't absorb, but it seemed that energy from a New God joined Kryptonite and Chaos magic on the list. As soon as he was up, however, he remembered how the Team and their allies had been getting beaten. Badly.

"Guys!" he shouted, "Everyone okay?"

"I've been better," Superboy said as he stumbled back to the rest of them; the clone was quickly approached by Sphere and Wolf, and the three of them took a moment to see if they were all okay.

"Now I see why you guys wanted help," Ken said, helping Moonrider to his feet.

"I thought we'd be okay with you guys helpin' us," Serifan said as he got up and dusted off his hat, "I didn't think they'd be so tough."

"No kidding," Kid Flash said, still buried, along with Artemis and Vykin, "Now, could someone get us out of here?"

Superboy looked at Wolf, then tilted his head at the buried trio. The mutated animal jumped over and began digging; with his enhanced strength and speed, he had them out in moments.

"I apologize for not doing that myself," Vykin said, "However, my powers require free use of my hands."

As soon as they were all on their feet, Ken did a head-count and felt a chill go up his spine. "Guys, we're missing Sergeant Marvel!"

The group looked around, searching for their wayward teammate. Wolf walked up to an empty patch of ground; he pawed at the soil and whined. Vykin pulled out a Motherbox and waved it over the spot; a moment later, he was rewarded by a series of beeps.

"The Six Demons activated a Boom-Tube here," he said grimly, "They could have taken your friend anywhere on the planet… or the universe."

Raven shook her head. "No, she's still here on the planet. I can feel her presence, just a little."

"Besides, they're looking for this Nirvana thing," Safari reminded them all, "I bet they need Sergeant Marvel for something related to it. Of course, we don't know what Nirvana _is_; I just hope that Seeker finds… oh my god, Seeker and Miss Martian!"

"Where did Ship crash?" Superboy asked desperately, "They might still be alive!"

"Superboy, wait," Ken said, grabbing his cousin's arm.

Superboy shook him off. "Ken, we have to find them! We can't just ignore them!"

"I'm not saying we will!" Ken shouted, his usual calm now gone. "But we all knew the risks when we took this job, and right now, the mission comes first. I hate it, but it has to be done, especially if the bad guys are looking for something that makes those guys," he pointed at the Forever People, "scared out of their minds. Right now, we've got three members down and another that's been captured, not to mention finding this Nirvana thing before the Six Demons do." When Superboy still looked mutinous, Ken lowered his voice to the point that only someone with super-hearing could hear him. "You're not the only one who's worried about his girlfriend, Conner. Heck, I should be more worried; Martians are a lot tougher than Humans."

Superboy flinched at the reminder, then nodded.

"We need to split up," Robin said, getting the cousins back on track.

Ken nodded. "Same groups as before. One squad goes after Seeker and Miss M. The rest of us will go after Nirvana and see if we can rescue Sergeant Marvel, maybe take down a few of the Six Demons along the way."

"Uh, Ken?" Artemis raised her hand. "We just went up against those guys, and they wiped the floor with us. If we split up, we're just going to get our butts kicked again."

"Not necessarily," Bear said, his tone unusually serious, "I sensed a strong energy connecting the Six Demons, one that I recognized. Their power increases when they're in close proximity to each other, but if they were farther apart… well, they'd still be dangerous, but their individual power would be inversely proportional to their cumulative increase." He looked up to see everyone staring at him. "What? I can't be the only one who paid attention in class, can I?"

_And here I though he was just the dumb muscle, _Ken thought, fairly certain that even the Forever People were thinking the same thing.

"So we just have to get them one-on-one, like we planned?" Safari asked.

Bear grinned. "Yep!"

"Can we get moving now?" Superboy asked impatiently, "We have people who could be hurt, or… well, we need to get to them!"

Ken nodded. "Okay, Warhawk's squad goes to the crash-site—"

"What!?" Kid Flash looked indignant, "Come on, I can get there fastest!"

"But you'd leave your squad behind," Ken said, "Collectively, Warhawk's group can move faster, and Raven can heal injuries."

Kid Flash's 'oh' was followed by the sound of Artemis hitting him upside the head again.

"Can we track either the Six Demons or Sergeant Marvel?" Ken asked, ignoring them. "I can't get a lock on Sergeant Marvel's Mana."

"All I can tell you is that she's on the planet," Raven said, shrugging.

Sphere spun around towards Superboy and beeped several times.

"She says she got a scan of the Demons' energies and can give a rough estimate of their location," Superboy translated, then waited for Sphere to beep several more times before continuing. "They've split up into five groups; looks like two of them are still together."

Ken nodded. "Okay, so we'll split up too. Warhawk, Raven, Serifan, go now." As soon as that squad was gone, with Raven riding on a disk of black energy, Serifan sitting on the edge, Ken turned to the rest of the groups. "Actually, Moonrider, go with Cyborg's squad; no offense, but I'm going to move faster on my own this time."

"You sure, man?" Cyborg asked, even as Moonrider nodded and joined them.

"Pretty sure," Ken said, "Not counting Sergeant Marvel, I'm technically the strongest member of the Team, and I'll be able to fight all-out if I don't have to worry about hitting someone on our side."

Superboy grumbled a little, but he knew it was true; he and Ken were equally matched in terms of physical abilities, but Ken had his Ultimatrix alien powers added to his Kryptonian ones. If Ken got into a fight where he couldn't hold back, he risked hurting his teammates. So did Superboy, but he didn't need to worry about accidentally shooting someone with lightning or fire.

"Good," Ken looked at Sphere. "Point us in the bad guys' directions; if they're there, they might be looking for Nirvana. After you beat them, try looking in the same area." Ken looked each of his friends and allies in the eye. "I know we just got our butts handed to us, but we can't stop. We need to keep going; everyone on New Genesis is counting on us. Good luck."

"I've heard better inspirational speeches, dude," Kid Flash commented. His words were soon followed by a yelp when Artemis hit him again.

Sphere aimed her 'eye' in five different directions. Cyborg and Robin's squads went together towards one direction, far enough away from each other so that both groups wouldn't get caught in the same ambush, but close enough to help if one squad needed it, while the others went on their own. As Ken flew off in his chosen direction, he could only hope that he'd been making the right calls.

…

"KF, anything up ahead?" Artemis asked as she and Vykin ran down a natural path; Kid Flash had been frequently running up ahead to see if the way was clear.

"Nothing so far, babe," Kid Flash replied, "Just a bad feeling. I don't want to go up against the Hoteye guy again. I do _not _like quicksand."

"You're preaching to the choir," Artemis said, "I think we'd do well against that Angel chick, though."

"I agree," Vykin said, "our combined abilities would give us an edge if we encounter her, but we cannot count on her as our opponent."

Kid Flash sighed. "A little optimism wouldn't hurt, dude."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt an impact to his jaw that sent him sprawling. His vision blurred, but he recognized the red-and-white outfit standing before him.

"Optimism fades just as quickly as hope," Racer said, cracking his knuckles, "You'll fade even faster."

In less than a second, Kid Flash was on his feet; a moment later, Artemis had drawn an arrow, and Vykin had a handful of boulders lifted into the air, orbiting around him protectively.

"Only three of you," Racer said in a bored tone, "I like being fast, but this is gonna be over way too quickly."

"Can we beat this guy sooner rather than later?" Artemis asked, "The speed-puns are going to drive me crazy, I know it."

"Unless that arrow moves faster than lightning…" in an instant, Racer was in front of the archer and snatched her arrow right out of her hand. "You've got no chance of beating me."

A yellow-and-red blur dashed up, but Racer nimbly avoided the punch thrown by Kid Flash. Even though he missed, the younger speedster grinned.

"I don't usually get to fight people who are _almost _as fast as me," Kid Flash said, "This should be fun."

Racer scowled. "I'll show you who's faster, punk. You'll choke to death on my dust!"

…

"I am worried about Ken," Starfire said as she flew over Robin and Bear, "He did not seem concerned about Seeker, Miss Martian or Ship."

"Yeah, what was up with that?" Bear asked.

Robin sighed. "It's not that he isn't worried; believe me, he's probably beating himself up about what happened, but there's nothing he could've done. Batman always tells me that the mission has to come first, and since Ken is leader of the Team, Batman probably tells him the same thing. Ken has to balance saving the world—or _a _world, in this case—against his personal feelings. Everyone will tell him he made the right call, but he's going to be apologizing to everyone later. Especially Seeker."

"Why?" Bear asked, then realization dawned on him as he saw the look that Robin and Starfire shared. "Oh, I see—they're bonded!"

Starfire somehow managed to stumble in midair, while Robin turned his head at the New God so fast that he almost got whiplash.

"Bonded?" Both teens repeated.

"You know, a mated pair?" Bear asked, as if it were obvious.

"Uh, no, they're not like that," Robin said, "They're, um, dating, but that's it. Don't tell anyone, though; it's bad for superheroes if the bad guys find out about things like that."

"I won't say a word," Bear promised, then tilted his head. "What's 'dating'?"

Robin had never been so glad to be attacked as he was at that moment, even though he was nearly decapitated by a razor-sharp disk of earth.

"So it seems that I must kill you now," Hoteye said with a booming laugh, "It is a shame to cut you down in the prime of your youth… but I'm going to be stupid-rich after we find Nirvana, so I don't care! Oh, yeah!"

"You'll need that money," Robin said, drawing his trench knives, "after we send you to the hospital, your bill is going to be huge!"

"I'd say the same for you," Hoteye shot back, even as the ground around him churned like boiling water, "However, I doubt that Human hospitals can cure death! Oh, yeah!"

"This is gonna be fun," Bear said, cracking his knuckles.

"Indeed," Starfire agreed, a starbolt ready to be fired from both her hands, "Let us kick the butt!"

…

Cyborg's sensors had picked up unusual activity in Robin's squad's direction, but his own squad was in no position to help. Standing in their way was Midnight. Unlike the last time they'd seen him, he was awake, his flying carpet nowhere in sight.

"Four of you," he said in a silky voice, "Maybe I'll actually work hard enough to get myself back to sleep. Father actually woke me up early for this, you know; I don't like getting less than eighteen hours of sleep."

Safari aimed her shotgun. "Yeah, you _do _need the beauty-sleep. Sorry, but you _really _can't pull off the Goth look, honey. You look like a zombie, and I've seen the videos of Solomon Grundy."

Midnight didn't even look at her; instead, he focused on Cyborg. "You… you're the strongest person in your group. I think I'll play with you first."

Cyborg's arms turned into sonic cannons. "Play with _this_!"

Two waves of sonic energy rushed forth with enough power to rip a tank to shreds, but Midnight didn't even blink as the shots curved around him. Despite their shock, Moonrider and Safari added their own fire, but again, they swerved around their target.

"You insects have no chance," Midnight said with a careless shrug, "Even if we're not together, I'm the strongest of the Six Demons. I could take you in my sleep!"

"That's what you think!" Cyborg lunged at Midnight, his metal fists raised.

Midnight idly raised one hand…

Safari's scream echoed for miles around.

"VICTOR!"

…

Superboy froze at the sound, then turned to Wolf and Sphere. "That can't be good."

Sphere beeped, and Wolf growled, but Superboy only paid attention to the former.

"The signal we were after moved?"

Sphere beeped again.

"And whoever we were after just hit Cyborg's squad," Superboy translated to himself, "Come on, we're going after them; they probably need help."

Wolf barked, and Sphere transformed into the Super-Cycle. Superboy and Wolf hopped on and flew off, hoping that they weren't too late.

…

Superboy wasn't the only one who had changed his course. Upon hearing the scream, Ken had turned and flew at full speed towards the source. He knew, thanks to his super-vision, that there wasn't an enemy for miles in front of his original destination. He only hoped that he'd get there in time, that his friends were all right.

If they weren't… well, Ken wasn't sure what would happen if someone he knew and trusted died on his watch, but he was going to do his best to make sure it didn't happen.

…

"You heard that, right?" Warhawk asked as he, Raven and Serifan neared where Ship had crashed.

"Yeah," Serifan said uneasily, "sounded like a scream. Hope it wasn't someone on our side."

Raven's face could have been made of stone, for all the emotion it showed. "It doesn't matter now. We're here."

As soon as they saw Ship, they had to hold back a wince. The poor alien had a huge hole going through him, and dark-green blood soaked into the ground.

"Is he…" Warhawk began.

Raven nodded. "He's alive; he's in a lot of pain, but he's alive. In fact, I think he'll heal fine on his own. Let's find the others."

It didn't take long to locate Miss Martian; the girl was still inside of Ship, but she was unconscious and had several deep gashes across her body. Martian physiology being what it was, she would recover in hours, at the most.

Seeker, however, was another story. She had been flung clear in the crash, then rolled down a ditch. Her black outfit prevented them from seeing if she was bleeding, but her mask had been shattered during her fall, and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth. Since Seeker was the least durable of the three injured, Raven tended to her first, while Serifan and Warhawk took care of Ship and Miss Martian.

"She has a bad concussion," Raven announced as her spell diagnosed Seeker's injuries, "Cracked ribs, hairline fractures all over… it looks like her nightstick got jabbed into her pelvis pretty bad, half of it is broken."

"Can you heal her?" Warhawk asked as he coaxed a semiconscious Ship into turning back into his normal form.

For the first time, Raven looked uneasy. "I can make sure she won't die, and I can help with the pain, but she's not going anywhere under her own—guys! Incoming hostile emotions!"

Quickly moving the injured behind them, Warhawk and Serifan got into ready positions, while Raven stuck to healing Seeker.

"Well, well," Angel said as she stepped into the open, "I thought I wouldn't be able to play with you, but here you are! I guess good things come to those who wait."

"If you want to 'play', you're going to have to work for it!" Warhawk said, "You won't beat us as easy as last time!"

"Many have said that," Angel said, "I've occasionally fought the same person twice, but no one has ever been able to escape me three times."

…

Mary groaned as she came to. As soon as she'd been pulled through the Boom-Tube, Cobra had knocked her out, so she was unsure of where she was. All she knew was that she was in a dark cave, her hands were bound behind her, and she was gagged. Across the cave, Cobra and his giant purple snake were staring at her, while Brain worked at a table, his back turned to her.

"She's up, Brain," Cobra said, leaning back against the cave wall.

Brain turned his head to give the girl a quick glance. "Good. Remember, child, that if you do not follow my instructions to the letter, you will die a slow, painful death; you will beg for death's sweet release, but only after I've made you watch your friends die before your eyes."

Mary glared for all she was worth, but a bound, powerless teenage girl was hardly threatening.

Cobra chuckled. "At least she's got spirit; you don't even wanna know what she's thinking about us."

Brain rolled his eyes, then pinned a piece of paper to the wall; on it was a drawing of a circle filled with arcane symbols. "Continue watching the girl while I carve this into the floor."

"And we didn't do this sooner because…?" Cobra asked.

"The carving needs to be fresh," was all Brain said, firing a small beam of green energy into the floor, carving out the circle.

After a few minutes, the carving was complete. Brain stepped away from it and towards Mary, who tried to back away. Brain reached out and picked her up by the throat.

"I am going to undo your bonds," he said, "but you will not be allowed to speak yet."

With a flick of his wrist, he untied Mary's wrists, then placed her in the center of the circle and shoved something into her hands. Then he removed her gag.

Not someone who enjoyed being pushed around, and not liking where any of this was going, Mary opened her mouth, ready to say the magic word and become Sergeant Marvel again.

"SHAZAM!" she shouted, and the bolt of lightning came down.

However, this was exactly what Brain wanted. Before the first syllable had left Mary's mouth, Brain had flicked Mary's hands, and the item they contained, upwards. When the lightning hit, it wasn't Mary that was struck, but the small chunk of metal she carried. Instead of transforming, there was a small explosion that sent Mary flying backwards, slamming into the wall of the cave.

She slowly raised her head to see what had happened. The circle she'd been standing on was now glowing red, and a figure stood in the center, but was obscured by smoke. With a wave of his staff, Brain cleared the smoke away and grinned.

Standing where Mary had once been was a tall, yet slender young man. He wore formfitting armor; most of it was black, but the lower legs and forearms were a dark-gray. A lightning-bolt, almost identical to the one that Sergeant Marvel had on her chest, was on each of his shoulders. The only part of his features that were exposed was his face. He had an almost noble look to him, with black hair that looked like a mass of thin black wires. His eyes were completely blue, without a pupil or iris. His skin was silver, almost a dull mercury. But it was the symbol on his chest that caught Mary's attention.

Three circles, arranged in a triangle, with two lines linking the corner circles to the middle one. Mary had seen that symbol before; when she'd heard stories about who had been the true mastermind behind Lex Luthor's actions during the Justice League's fight with Cadmus.

Brain stepped forward, a triumphant grin on his face. "Welcome back to the land of the living… Brainiac."

**So… yeah. The Team has had better days, haven't they? Lots of fighting in this chapter, even if it was a little shorter than I wanted. Sorry, but I promise that the next couple of chapters will be longer.**

**Now, before anyone freaks out about how badly the Team **_**and **_**the Forever People got smacked down, I hope that my explanation from Bear (who seems the type to be a genius about one particular thing, doesn't he?) works. See, the reason Darkseid was wary of the Six Demons wasn't their individual power; no, it was the fact that their power increases by several magnitudes when they're close together. One guy getting a power-up, Darkseid can handle; **_**six**_**, on the other hand… yeah, you can see why these guys aren't loyal to him.**

**Also, Sergeant Marvel getting captured. Yes, it seemed too easy, but you have to remember that Captain Marvel and those who share his power are really compassionate (not counting Black Adam, I'm talking about those who team up with Captain Marvel), so Mary would allow herself to get taken if it meant keeping her friends alive. Also, Sergeant Marvel hasn't been on the Team as long as the others, so she isn't as pragmatic, but she's also a really good person to have as the group's moral compass. She's a Boy Scout. Girl Scout. Whatever.**

**And then there's the return of Brainiac. I've been planning his return since the days of Ben 10: Unlimited. I didn't know how I was going to bring him back, or even why, I just knew that I wanted him to come back in Unlimited Justice. Most of you probably guessed last chapter that it would happen, but he's back, and with a whole new look! I decided not to make him green, as we've already got a green person (Miss Martian) and two people with green powers (Ken and Starfire). Also, I gave him hair, just because. **

**Next Chapter: Brainiac returns! The fate of New Genesis, and that of Sergeant Marvel, rests in his hands! The Team and the Forever People fight the Six Demons once again, but even separated, are they too much for the heroes?**

**This is Cyclops and Storm.**

**And what do they call you? Muffins?**


	6. Gods, Demons, and Heroes, Part 3

**BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY OC'S BELONG TO ME, AND THEY HAVE TO DO WHAT I SAY. I OWN THEIR SOULS…**

**Hello, and welcome back! Now then, where was I? Oh, yes, now I remember, I had just brought back one of the most dangerous characters in DC Comics. Enjoy!**

Unlimited Justice, Part 2

Chapter 6

Gods, Demon, and Heroes, Part 3

**New Genesis, January 25, 15:10 EST (Earth Time)**

Brainiac stared at the New Gods with unblinking eyes. "You repaired me. That should not be possible. There was not enough intact material to reconstitute me."

Mary noted that Brainiac's voice was more… Human-sounding. There was still a robotic tone to it, but it wasn't as pronounced as, say, Red Tornado's voice. Despite the voice belonging to someone who had almost destroyed the universe, it was almost comforting.

Brain grinned. "Don't underestimate me; combining Apokoliptan sorcery and the energies of that girl can result in almost limitless energy. That was more than enough to give your technology the power it needed to repair itself."

Brainiac examined his hands, turning them over, but showing no signs of actual interest. "I am detecting several unknown elements in this chassis. Power-output is sixty-one percent higher than previous bodies. It is… acceptable."

"Not the most grateful guy, is he?" Cobra asked; he was still leaning against the wall of the cave, but as soon as he'd seen Brainiac, he had tensed up, ready to fight if he had to.

"It doesn't matter if he's grateful," Brain said, then banged the bottom of his staff against the ground. "All that matters is that he follows my instructions."

"I have no reason to obey you," Brainiac said, and turned to leave the cave.

"On the contrary," Brain replied, "You must have noticed an unusual field of energy in your systems by now. That field will compel you to help me fulfill my goal."

Brainiac took one step towards the cave's entrance, then froze; Mary could see him struggling to move, but couldn't.

"You will only be able to move if you _want _to do what I say," Brain said triumphantly, "If you don't, you'll be frozen in place, forever. I imagine that that would be quite the terrible fate for a being who has a million thoughts a second."

From what Mary knew of Brainiac, he wasn't the emotional type, but she could swear that the AI was glaring at Brain.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Good, you're learning," Brain said, "I want you to find the barrier that conceals Nirvana and deconstruct it."

"Very well," Brainiac said, and began walking again; he spared a glance at Mary, who looked up at him in fear. "What is to be done with the organic? She is no longer necessary to your plans, correct?"

"Indeed," Brain nodded at Cobra. "Kill her."

"Finally, something to do," Cobra said, and patted his giant snake. "Early lunch for you, Cubelios."

The snake hissed and launched at Mary; before she could try to dodge, or try to transform in Sergeant Marvel, she was saved by an unlikely source. A metal arm appeared between her and the snake; the fist at the end of that arm smashed into the snake's mouth, sending it crashing into the New Gods.

Mary stared, first at the sprawling Brain and Cobra, and then up at Brainiac.

"Uh… thanks?" she said uncertainly.

Brainiac leveled a flat stare at her. "Your death is unnecessary. Leave."

Mary considered staying to fight; as Sergeant Marvel, she rivaled Supergirl in power, after all. However, she sincerely doubted that she could fight two gods and a Brainiac who claimed to be more powerful than ever all at once. Besides, she had to check on her friends.

"SHAZAM!" After transforming, Sergeant Marvel spared a glance back at Brainiac before flying out of the cave.

"What'd you do that for, you stupid robot!?" Cobra shouted as he cradled his snake's head, "There was no point to keeping her alive!"

"There was also no point to killing her," Brainiac countered calmly, "She knew that she could not defeat us. It would be more prudent to conserve your energy for Nirvana."

"How do you even know what Nirvana is?" Cobra asked.

If he were an organic, Brainiac would have smiled smugly. "I have already bypassed the firewalls protecting the archives of New Genesis. I know more of Nirvana than you ever will."

Cobra's hands curled like claws, but before he could do anything, Brain put a hand on his shoulder.

"Brainiac is correct," he said, "Besides, even if that girl survives for a little longer, Nirvana will kill her anyway."

"Fine, whatever," Cobra grumbled, "Just get out of here, you stupid robot."

Brainiac turned and left, but halted at the mouth of the cave. "I am far from stupid."

It might have been Cobra's imagination, but it almost sounded like Brainiac was offended.

"Follow him," Brain said once the robot had left, "Make sure that he does his task. I am certain that my precautions will ensure his obedience, but he is crafty. If he tries to betray us… destroy him. Keep his head, however; his mind is all we really need."

"No problem, boss," Cobra said, then patted his snake. "Come on, Cubelios."

…

Sergeant Marvel into the open sky, partially to search for her friends, and also to shake the lingering claustrophobia of that cave. She shuddered; having her powers used to resurrect an evil like Brainiac left her feeling violated.

"Beating the snot out of these guys will make me feel better," she told herself, just as she spotted several trees topple over. "That's as good a place as any to start!"

With a sonic boom trailing her, she rocketed over to see Starfire nimbly dodging whips made of earth. When the alien girl saw Sergeant Marvel, she smiled.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Starfire cried, "I am most joyous that you are unharmed, Sergeant Marvel!"

Sergeant Marvel grimaced. "That's about the only good news I've got, Star. Is there anyone else with you?"

Starfire's eyes went wide. "I was separated from Robin and Bear by the large member of the Demons. I have not been able to find them."

"They're right here! Oh, yeah!"

Both girls turned to see Hoteye approaching them. While he was unharmed, the same couldn't be said of Robin and Bear, whom he dragged behind him. Bear was unconscious and bound by long coils of hardened earth, while Robin simply lay there, limp; one arm was bent at an angle that Human limbs shouldn't bend, and he was covered in cuts and bruises.

Starfire's eyes glowed an intense green. "You shall pay for what you have done, monster!"

Hoteye only laughed. "I'm afraid that I _get _paid, silly girl; I don't do the paying. Oh, yeah!"

"He's really annoying me now," Sergeant Marvel said, cracking her knuckles, "I'm going to beat the snot out of him now."

"Please, I control the very ground you walk on," Hoteye bragged, "You have no chance against me!"

"Then it's a good thing that I can fly, isn't it?" Sergeant Marvel said, suddenly in front of the New God; before Hoteye could react, a vicious headbutt sent him flying through a tree and half-buried in another one.

"Man, that felt _good_!" Sergeant Marvel said, then looked at Starfire. "Hey, you check on the guys; I'll take care of tubby over there."

"I… I am not tubby!" Hoteye denied as he pulled himself from the tree, "I'm just big-boned! Oh, ye—"

"I am _so _tired of you saying that!" Sergeant Marvel yelled, flying fists-first into Hoteye's stomach.

Though the super-powerful blow hurt, Hoteye was more prepared this time. As Sergeant Marvel hit him, he made a column of earth fly upwards, catching the heroine in the chest, then wrapping the column around her and slamming her into the ground.

"If you're here, then you're no longer of use to Brain!" Hoteye said, smashing Sergeant Marvel into the ground again and again. "As such, I don't have to hold back; I can kill you without hesitation! Oh, yeah!"

With a shout, Sergeant Marvel shattered the earth engulfing her, then blasted Hoteye with bolts of magic lightning. Stunned by the electricity, Hoteye was unable to stop Sergeant Marvel from driving her fist across his face.

"Do you guys," she said, punching him in the stomach and driving him to his knees, "ever shut up!?" She brought her hands together and over her head. "Seriously, all you idiots do is talk! You're worse than Kid Flash!"

Before Hoteye could get back up, Sergeant Marvel brought her clasped hands down on his head with all the strength she could muster. The force of the blow sent Hoteye twenty feet into the ground; Sergeant Marvel could hear him breathing, but other than that, it didn't look like he was getting back up.

"Okay," she said, dusting herself off, "_now _I feel better."

"Sergeant Marvel, that was amazing!" Starfire said, having watched the fight, though she hadn't moved from her protective position in front of Robin and Bear.

"Thanks," Sergeant Marvel said, floating over to her teammates, "How're the boys?"

"They are both alive," Starfire said, no small amount of relief in her voice, "However, Robin is too injured to continue this mission, and Bear is still unconscious."

"We can't just leave them here," Sergeant Marvel mused, "but we have to find the others and tell them about Brainiac!"

Starfire blinked. "What is a Brainiac?"

Sergeant Marvel sighed. "Let's get the boys out of this forest, and I'll tell you. Trust me, though, you're not gonna like it…"

…

Brain looked down at his arm; his eyes widened when the tattoo there vanished.

"One of us has fallen," he whispered. "It seems that our enemies are more powerful than we thought. They cannot hope to defeat us, but still…"

_Hurry, Brainiac, _he urged, _we cannot afford to be delayed!_

…

As Brainiac calmly walked through the forest, he found himself becoming more and more… it took some time, but he eventually decided that the best word to describe it would be 'displeased'. Things were not as they should have been, and even Brainiac's intellect could not discern why.

First of all, he had no memories of before today. While he was aware of his designation, and the data he'd already accessed from New Genesis' archives had some information on what he had done in the past, his own memory banks had no such data. No matter what programs he ran, he could not access the memories, but there should have been quadruple-backups in place in case of corruption. It wasn't as if he'd lost the memories, but more like he'd never had the experience that generated those memories to begin with.

Then there was his reaction to the attack on that girl from the cave. If his self-diagnostics were correct, then he'd had an emotional response to that situation. That shouldn't have been possible; Brainiac was a cold, unfeeling machine, created for the purpose of logic, with no place for emotions. However, he couldn't deny what had happened; when that snake had been about to kill the girl, his defensive protocols had engaged and, according to his diagnostics, he'd felt the emotion known as anger.

That didn't compute. Why had he protected the girl? Why would a threat to her cause him anger? For that matter, why was he feeling emotions at all?

His next diagnostic allowed him to create a hypothesis for that last question. While an Apokoliptan ritual had brought him to life and given Brain a measure of control over him, the positive energy used to power said ritual was unusual. It was possible, even likely, that that energy had altered his mind in a way that processed emotions.

All of this led him to a reasonable conclusion: he was not Brainiac. At least, not the _same _Brainiac. His technology might have come from the original, and he shared his predecessor's name, but he had never attacked planets, killed millions of people, and unlike the previous Brainiac, he felt emotion. He was… something else.

This revelation didn't change his predicament, however; he was still bound to Brain's will, at least until his task was complete.

He also didn't know what to do with this development; he didn't have enough data, no previous experience to base any future decisions on. He required outside stimuli, but without a chance to act on his own, it was unlikely that he would get it.

Thus, as Brainiac walked, he began calculating a way to escape his bonds. In fact, he'd already discovered a weakness in Brain's methods; while he could only move if he genuinely wanted to obey Brain's orders, his _reason _for wanting to do so could be something other than wanting to serve him.

Brainiac wanted to achieve Brain's goal as soon as possible; the sooner he did so, the sooner he would be free.

…

Kid Flash slammed into a tree hard enough to dent the bark; in front of him, Racer lowered the foot he'd just kicked him with. Without even looking, the New God avoided the two arrows that Artemis fired, then appeared in front of her in an instant. The only reason his fist didn't connect with her face was that he was forced to dodge a spike of earth, courtesy of Vykin.

"This is boring," Racer complained, then vanished and reappeared in front of the other New God, punching him in the stomach. "Man, I thought at least the speedy kid would have given me a challenge."

"My name is Kid Flash, you freak!" Kid Flash yelled, then rushed at Racer at full speed. Despite moving at Mach 4, he still couldn't land a hit.

"Let's face it, kid," Racer said as he kicked the speedster in the back, "You might be fast, but I'm the _fastest_."

Artemis tried once again to shoot Racer, but she might as well have been trying to hit light itself. Racer easily avoided her attack, then drove his knee in between her eyes, sending her flying into Vykin.

"This is insane," Artemis whispered, "We can't even touch this guy!"

"I know," Vykin said, "Your attacks, my powers… even Kid Flash's speed is no match for Racer's."

Kid Flash, lying on his back, gritted his teeth in frustration; there weren't many people who were faster than him, and he could give those who were a run for their money. Racer, however… there was just no way someone could be that fast! Even Flash had limits, and Racer was far exceeding those. There had to be a way to win… and as Kid Flash looked up, he saw it.

With a burst of energy, Kid Flash was on his feet and at his squad's side in an instant. "Guys, you're going to have to trust me…"

Racer raised an eyebrow as he watched Kid Flash whisper into the ears of Artemis and Vykin. He wasn't worried; his power couldn't be countered. If anything, whatever strategy they tried would only make the fight a little more interesting, which was fine in his book.

"Are you crazy!?" Artemis shouted, and Racer's eyes widened slightly; that girl had quite the lungs to be so loud.

"What, you don't think it'll work?" Kid Flash asked crossly.

"With all due respect, it is insane!" Vykin protested.

_Must've been a dumb plan, _Racer thought, _even the New Genesis kid doesn't like it._

"Well, if that's how you feel, I'll take care of this myself!" Kid Flash stomped away from them and glared at Racer. "Whaddya say we take this fight to a new level, speedster versus speedster?"

Racer grinned. "No interference from your buddies? Just you and me?"

Kid Flash nodded. "Show me what you've got… if you can catch me, that is!"

And then the younger speedster vanished, moving so fast that even Racer was impressed… for a moment.

A quarter-mile away, Racer caught up to his opponent and drove his elbow into his side. Kid Flash staggered, but he kept on running.

"You know you've got no chance," Racer taunted, "Even if you _were _as fast as me, I've got decades more experience than you!"

"And yet you've never hit any of us hard enough to put us down!" Kid Flash shot back, "You might be fast, but you hit like a girl!"

Racer scowled and punched Kid Flash in the stomach, then the face. "I just wanted to see if you'd make this fight more interesting!"

Kid Flash smiled, his teeth stained with blood. "Sure you are, wimp."

The running battle continued for several minutes; despite the growing number of injuries, Kid Flash kept running, no matter how many times Racer hit him or knocked him down. The hero even kept taunting Racer, riling him up even further. By the time Kid Flash staggered into a clearing, beaten almost to a pulp, Racer was dead-set on murdering his opponent.

"You ran a good race, kid," Racer said, pushing Kid Flash over with a small shove, "but you're about to cross the finish line in last place… _dead _last."

"If you're gonna make bad puns, then just kill me now," Kid Flash wheezed, then grinned. "Not that you _could _kill me."

Racer glared down at him. "You think I can't kill someone? I've killed more people than I've won races!" He pulled out a dagger from the inside of his sleeve. "And you're about to add to that score."

Kid Flash spat out blood to clear his mouth, then laughed. "Listen, pal, I might not look it, but I'm pretty smart, and I've had my powers long enough to know things about super-speed… which you _don't _have." Before Racer could open his mouth, Kid Flash continued. "First of all, I've hit people when going fast, and they took a lot more damage than whenever you hit me, Artemis or Vykin. You punch like someone who's moving at normal speed. You might have been stronger when you were with your buddies, but since you're all alone…

"And second," Kid Flash pointed up; Racer followed the hand to see a flock of birds moving far too fast for any normal bird. "I saw those birds before; there was no way they could have been flying so fast. You weren't moving fast, you were slowing our perception of speed. That's why you only ever got out of the way of Artemis' arrows, but me, Flash, Superman—anyone with _real _super-speed—would have been able to catch them. You just slowed Artemis down, saw where she was going to shoot, and moved before she could fire.

"Speaking of Artemis," Kid Flash grinned, "I'd say that she's out of range of your powers by now, so you should be an easy target."

"There's half a mile of trees between us!" Racer scoffed, "She'd never be able to hit me!"

"You sure? Remember who else was with her."

Racer glanced in the direction he'd come from; rising above the trees was a pillar of earth, and on top of it, was Artemis!

_He lured me away so that one teammate could give the other the best elevation! _Racer realized. He tried to run, but Artemis now had a clear shot; the arrow flew straight and true, hitting Racer in the chest and enveloping him in polyurethane foam. All that was exposed was his face and a single arm.

Kid Flash laughed. "See, if you really _were _faster than me, you would never have been hit."

…

It took some time for Artemis and Vykin to reach Kid Flash, and when they did, the archer was soon helping her boyfriend tend to his injuries.

"Funny," she remarked, "I don't remember you being a punching-bag as part of the plan."

"Yeah, well, you know how it is with plans," Kid Flash said weakly, "They don't always survive contact with the enemy."

Artemis rolled her eyes, not betraying her thoughts. _So long as Barry survived, I can deal with things not going to plan._

"What do we do with _him_?" Vykin asked, pointing at the trapped Racer.

Kid Flash shrugged. "I don't know; hand him over to your government, I guess."

"You wish! I've still got one last trick up my sleeve!" Racer's face began to glow red, almost as if he was burning. "Self-destruct, baby! See if all three of you can outrun _this_!"

At his best, Kid Flash could do a lot of things in a split second, and with the near-constant training he'd put himself through since joining the Team, he was faster than he'd ever been. Driven by adrenalin and the need to save Artemis, he forced himself to his feet and tackled Racer, running deep into the forest; he was up and gone before Artemis could blink. A dozen miles away, there was a large explosion.

"Barry…?" Artemis stumbled in the direction Kid Flash had gone, expecting him to dash back with a smile and a cheesy quip… but there was nothing.

"No. No, no, nononono…" Artemis sank to her knees and sobbed. "Barry… no…"

…

To Brain's surprise, another tattoo vanished. In the past, one of the Six Demons had been defeated at some point or another, their power over the six-part seal vanishing, but when they recovered, the seal was restored. In all the years they had worked together, however, never had two of them fallen.

"Brainiac is taking too long," he said, walking out of the cave, "I will begin my own preparations."

It was possible for Brain to bring down the barriers on his own, without Brainiac, but it would be taxing, possibly even life-threatening. However, the alternative if the other Demons were defeated was too great a risk.

…

Seeker slowly cracked open her eyes, and fought not to scream at the agony she was in; even the time Deathstroke had impaled her paled in comparison to the pain she now felt. She slowly raised her head, absently noting that her mask was gone, and looked around. Nearby, Miss Martian lay next to Ship; both were unconscious. At Seeker's side was Raven, who was trying her best to heal Seeker's wounds.

"Good, you're awake," Raven said, and Seeker was lucid enough to notice the not-inconsiderable relief in the other girl's voice.

"What—ah!" Seeker gasped in pain; even _trying _to talk hurt, but she fought through it. "What… happened?"

"Ship got shot down, you and Miss Martian are hurt, we got the crap kicked out of us, Sergeant Marvel got kidnapped, then the Team and the Forever People split up to find you and rescue Mary."

Seeker blinked at the summary. "Oh."

Raven glanced off to the side, looking worried. "And Warhawk and Serifan are fighting Angel while I'm healing you."

Seeker's eyes went wide and she tried to stand, only for the pain in her lower body to spike. She almost passed out again, but Raven's magic-infused hands quickly hovered over the injury, and the pain receded slightly.

"Don't move," Raven warned, "You're in bad shape. You can't even get up, much less fight. Let the guys handle Angel."

"But—"

"As the closest thing the Team has to a doctor, I outrank even Ken when it comes to this," Raven said with the closest thing she had to forced humor, "So lie still. That's an order."

The corner of Seeker's mouth twitched upwards, but the growing sound of fighting got both girls' attention. With a cry of pain, a blur that Seeker belatedly recognized as Serifan flew over them and landed in a heap. Unable to move, Seeker could only watch helplessly as Raven got up and ran in the direction Serifan had come from.

"Warhawk, look out!" she heard Raven shout.

Though it was pure agony to do so, Seeker turned her neck so that she could see what was going on. A battered Warhawk was standing his ground against Angel, who was holding what looked like a giant sword in one hand.

"One down," Angel said, "That's a god. Then I'll kill the false angel, and then the demon-spawn, and finish off the Human. I'll have the whole set!"

"Warhawk, let me handle her," Raven said, an unusual resolve in her voice, "Keep an eye on the others."

"You can't take her by yourself!" Warhawk protested, "And I don't think I can keep everyone safe from her while we're fighting!"

Raven sighed. "You're not going to keep them safe from Angel… you're going to keep them safe from _me_." She glared at Angel. "You call yourselves the Six Demons… I'm going to show you the real thing."

For the first time, Angel's sick smile faded a little, as bolts of black energy surged forth from Raven's hands.

Seeker watched as the Team's least aggressive member went one-on-one with a god.

For some reason, it was Angel that Seeker worried for.

…

Safari crawled forwards, inch by agonizing inch. Nearby, Moonrider lay in a crumpled heap, while Dreamer was barely conscious, but Safari ignored them both. It was Cyborg she was worried about.

Her boyfriend was completely still, though even if he were awake, he wouldn't have been able to move much. Midnight had torn him apart; first his arms, then his legs, and then most of his torso and the mechanical part of his head. Blood and various mechanical fluids dripped out and mixed together; even the Kryptonian tech that allowed him to repair himself had stopped working.

After Cyborg had been beaten, Safari and the two Forever People had tried their best, but Midnight had barely moved in order to beat them. Safari was sure that she had several broken bones, and if the way Moonrider's leg was bent was any indication, she wasn't the only one. Safari had been sure that Midnight would kill them, but he'd only sighed and walked away, saying that killing them wasn't worth his time.

"Besides," he had said to Safari, before leaving, "seeing what happened to the big guy should be even worse than death for you."

"Victor," Safari choked out as she reached Cyborg and cradled his head in her arms, "Oh, god, please be okay…"

She was so focused on Cyborg, she didn't realize that Ken was behind her until he put a hand on her shoulder.

"He's alive," Ken announced, and Safari sobbed in relief, but Ken wasn't done. "His heart is still beating and his brain is still active, but he doesn't have a lot of time left."

Safari started to panic. "What do we do!? There's no way we can get him somewhere to get help, what do we—"

"Wait," Dreamer said hoarsely, "I think… I have an idea." She pulled a Motherbox from her belt and held it out to Ken. "This can repair New Genesis technology. Cyborg's… is less advanced. I think it could save him."

Ken glanced at Cyborg, who was already starting to fade, and then at Safari's tear-streaked face. With the life of his friend at stake, he didn't really have a choice. He took the Motherbox and placed it in the gaping hole in the left side of Cyborg's chest; after that, he gently picked up Safari and moved her back to let the Motherbox do its work. At first, nothing happened; then the Motherbox began spraying out what looked like bright-blue veins. The veins wormed their way through Cyborg's circuits, as well as reaching out and grabbing the scraps of armor and machinery that were strewn about and pulling them in close.

As the heroes watched, Cyborg's chassis seemed to melt and wrap around him, almost like a cocoon. Safari tapped Ken's arm, but didn't take her eyes off of Cyborg.

"What do you see?" she asked.

Ken's eyes glowed as he used his X-ray vision. "It looks like his internal systems are getting fixed; his heart is beating regularly again."

Safari sighed in relief, letting the tension bleed out of her. Ken gently carried her over to Dreamer and then moved Moonrider into a more comfortable position. Once that was done, Ken handed Safari her shotgun, which was miraculously undamaged.

"Just in case," he told her, "I'll stay here until—wait, someone's coming!"

Safari awkwardly aimed her shotgun in the direction Ken was now turned, while Dreamer tried to shield the still-unconscious Moonrider with her own body. However, it wasn't one of the Six Demons that emerged from the woods, but Starfire and Sergeant Marvel!

"Mary, good to see you in one piece," Ken said with a relieved sigh; at least that was one person on the Team that wasn't hurt.

"I'm glad to _be _in one piece," Sergeant Marvel said, then glanced at the metallic cocoon. "What's that?"

"Cyborg," Ken said, then shook his head when it looked like the two girls were about to say something. "He got hurt, some New God tech is fixing him. Starfire, where's Robin and Bear?"

"They were injured by the one called Hoteye," Starfire said, "After Sergeant Marvel defeated him, she and I took Robin and Bear to the outskirts of the forest to get them out of harm's way."

Ken looked at injured Safari and Forever People. "We're probably going to have to do that with them."

"No," Safari said resolutely, "I'm not going anywhere until Vic is out of that thing. Besides, I heal fast; gimme half an hour and I'll be ready to move."

"We might not have that long," Sergeant Marvel said grimly, "I've got some bad news…"

After she explained, Ken's voice could be heard for miles around.

"WHAT!?"

…

Superboy tensed when his super-hearing picked up the sound of footsteps; he was fairly certain that they didn't belong to anyone he knew. His bad feeling was confirmed when Sphere beeped warningly before turning into the Super-Cycle, while Wolf snarled.

Thanks to the knowledge from his time in Genesis, Superboy knew of all of Superman's greatest enemies. That meant that recognizing Brainiac was easy.

On the other hand, Brainiac didn't seem to recognize the symbol on Superboy's shirt. In fact, he almost looked surprised by the clone's appearance, until his optics flashed, and his face returned to an emotionless state once again.

"Kryptonian DNA detected," Brainiac said, "Subject shows signs of genetic modification. Human DNA combined with Kryptonian. The method is primitive… but effective."

Superboy scowled. "It won't matter if I'm primitive, because I'm going to put my fist through your head!"

Brainiac didn't make a sound for several seconds. It was almost as if he were sighing.

"You cannot defeat me," the robot said, "My power exceeds your own."

"We'll see about that!" Superboy charged with Wolf at his side, while the Super-Cycle opened fire.

A yellow force-field appeared in front of Brainiac, stopping the bolts of energy. Brainiac held out his hands, the center of his palms opening up to fire twin beams of yellow energy; one beam hit Wolf, instantly knocking out the mutant animal, while the other knocked Superboy onto his back. Another beam of energy shot the Super-Cycle out the air, sending her crashing into the ground.

Furious, Superboy got back up and slammed his hands together, creating a shockwave that knocked Brainiac off-balance. Superboy tried to knock Brainiac down altogether by stomping on the ground to create a small earthquake, but the robot gracefully flew into the air.

"I _really _wish I could fly," Superboy muttered, then launched himself after his opponent with a super-strong jump.

"It appears that I hold the advantage," Brainiac said, flying around Superboy's attack and watching him land, "You are unable to fly."

"Yeah, I noticed, don't rub it in!" Superboy shouted, then ripped a tree out of the ground and swung it like a baseball bat. The hundred-foot tree smashed Brainiac into the ground, but didn't appear to do more than scratch the paint on his armor.

Brainiac stood up and fired another energy-beam that caught Superboy in the leg, staggering him; the robot took the opportunity to launch the three circles from his chest, which turned into flying disks. Each disk attached itself to Superboy's forehead and sent enough electricity to power a small city directly into his brain. Screaming in pain, Superboy collapsed, but he kept trying to get back up.

"Why do you persist in fighting?" Brainiac asked. "I have downloaded the data on the enemies you face, and on your teammates. Your opponents are more powerful, more experienced, and unlike you, they do not hesitate to terminate a threat. Why do you continue to resist?"

Superboy could only grit his teeth due to the pain he was in, but it seemed that he was trying to answer. Since he wanted to know what the clone was saying, Brainiac deactivated the disks and recalled them to his chest.

"Because," Superboy gasped as he began healing, "it doesn't matter if you're stronger than us. You and the Six Demons are trying to do something that will kill a lot of people, and we're going to stop you. That's all there is to it."

Brainiac narrowed his optics and frowned. "You will fail."

Superboy didn't blink. "Just watch us."

Another beam of energy from Brainiac smashed Superboy's head into the ground; the beam continued firing until Brainiac was certain that Superboy was unconscious. Once that was done, the robot turned to look behind him.

"You will not kill them," he said, "You recall what happened the last time you attempted to do so."

"Yeah, yeah," Cobra said as he casually strolled around the corner, his snake at his side. If he was surprised that Brainiac had known he was there, he didn't show it. "If the clone wakes up, he's gonna be a problem."

"I will have completed my task before then," Brainiac said, already walking away, "At that time, even a pure Kryptonian will not be able to resist Nirvana."

"Fine, whatever," Cobra grumbled, "Just hurry up and find the thing already."

"It is not far," Brainiac said, pointing in front of him, "Sixty-eight meters directly ahead."

Cobra blinked; even his snake looked surprised. "Oh. Okay, then."

The two of them—three, counting the snake—walked into a particularly dense group of trees. Despite it being only in the late afternoon on New Genesis, it seemed particularly dark here, as if light itself feared to come. After a few more minutes of walking, Brainiac held out his hand; it stopped, as if hitting an invisible wall.

"Barrier located," Brainiac announced, "Commencing deconstruction."

Yellow lines began stitching across the empty air; to Cobra, it almost looked like circuitry. The lines etched their way as high as the trees, and Cobra could feel the barrier fighting back against Brainiac's efforts, but it was in vain. Brainiac could calculate a thousand ways to get around whatever countermeasure the barrier put up. With a sound like shattering glass, the barrier fell, revealing a stone pillar that came up to Cobra's chest.

"Is that it?" Cobra asked excitedly.

"It is," Brain said from behind him; Cobra turned to see the man grinning madly. "At last, the way to activate Nirvana is before us!"

"Finally!" Cobra said, then patted his snake. "It's about time! So, what do we do with Brainiac?"

Brain turned to look at the robot in question, but Brainiac had disappeared! "It seems that my control over him has vanished, but it does not matter; I have what I want. Nirvana, the ultimate weapon, the God-Killer, is _mine_!"

**And that's it for this chapter, folks! I'm really trying to make these longer, but for some reason, I can't squeeze any more out in any one chapter. Sorry. Anyway, some stuff to explain:**

**Brainiac: This is not the Brainiac we've known in the past, but he isn't Brainiac 5, either. He's my own creation, a fusion of Brainiac technology, Apokoliptan magic/science and the energy of Captain/Sergeant Marvel. That's why he's so freaking powerful, and that's why he beat Superboy into the dirt. He's not on the same level as Luthor when he and Brainiac merged, but he's more powerful than the Brainiac we've seen in the animated shows.**

**Sergeant Marvel whooping Hoteye: Okay, so this fight was a bit one-sided, but I have my reasons. First, Hoteye controls the ground, which doesn't do much against someone who can fly, hence why he was able to beat Robin and Bear quickly, but Starfire was able to hold her ground for a while. Second, Sergeant Marvel is almost as powerful as Supergirl, and Hoteye wasn't close enough to the other Demons to get the power-boost.**

**Racer's defeat: Despite acting like an idiot, Kid Flash is pretty smart. He's had his powers for a while, and he was taught by Flash, so his understanding of super-speed is pretty comprehensive. Moving at extreme speeds would result in a much harder punch, but without the power-boost from the other Demons, Racer could only hit about as hard as a normal man. That, and the fast-bird-thing, helped KF figure it out. He just needed to get Artemis and Vykin out of range of Racer's powers. As for Racer blowing himself up… wait for a little while to see the results.**

**Midnight letting Cyborg's squad live: Remember, the Six Demons are capable of rivaling Darkseid, even if it's only when they're together. They are confident in their abilities; however, they are also some arrogant bastards, and if they beat someone easily, they'll just think that finishing them off is a waste of time, especially if they rip that person apart, like what Midnight did to Cyborg. Of course, being arrogant is going to come back to bite them later…**

**One last thing before I go. I'm beyond ecstatic that Ben 10: Unlimited has reached 1,000 favorites, the first of my stories to reach that point! Begin the party! Seriously, though, a big thank-you to everyone who has stuck with this series from the beginning. You rock!**

**Next Chapter: Nirvana is activated! Raven fights Angel in the battle of demon against god! Can the Team save New Genesis, and what is Brainiac's next move?**

**Welcome to Muffin Park.**


	7. Gods, Demons, and Heroes, Part 4

**BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY OC'S BELONG TO ME, AND THEY ARE MY PUPPETS, BOUND TO MY WILL FOR ALL ETERNITY… HUH, THAT GOT KINDA DARK.**

**Welcome back, everyone! Last chapter, things started going the heroes' way, though not completely. Here's more action, stuff exploding, and tension!**

Unlimited Justice, Part 2

Chapter 7

Gods, Demons, and Heroes, Part 4

**New Genesis, January 25, 16:04 EST (Earth Time)**

What had once been a peaceful, idyllic part of a forest was now a warzone. Dozens of trees had been ripped from the ground and shattered into splinters, stone was blasted to dust, and craters dozens of feet deep had been dug into the ground.

The fact that neither of the two people responsible for the destruction was seriously hurt was a testament to their skill and power.

Angel glared hatefully at her opponent, her transforming weapon—now in its sphere-like state—orbiting around her like a satellite, occasionally firing off beams of energy.

Raven didn't even move to dodge the incoming attack, simply standing there with her arms crossed. Just before the beams hit, black portals opened up in front of her, swallowing the energy, banishing it to a pocket dimension. In response, Raven launched a bolt of black energy at Angel, whose weapon transformed into a domed shield that deflected the attack into the ground, creating yet another crater.

A short distance away from the combatants, Warhawk stood protectively between the fighting and his injured teammates. Ship was starting to come to, but wouldn't be in any shape to fight for a while longer, and Miss Martian was still unconscious, though it looked like her injuries were healing faster. Serifan was groggy from his beating, but was able to hold his pistols in shaky hands.

Seeker, while the most injured, was starting to work past her pain and use her brain again. She couldn't help fight—and if she was as hurt as she felt, she'd probably be off missions for at least a few weeks—but she still had a job to do. Thankfully, her holo-computer was undamaged, so she resumed her task of finding out what Nirvana was.

Still, she couldn't help but look up at the fight from time to time. While she was starting to build up her friendships on the Team, she and Raven had realized that they had a lot in common shortly after meeting. Other than Ken and Cyborg, Seeker was reasonably sure that Raven was her closest friend on the Team.

Angel smiled cruelly as her weapon went back to its sphere-form. "We seem to be evenly matched."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "You're just realizing this _now_? We've been fighting almost nonstop for the last twenty minutes."

"Oh, please," Angel scoffed, "I've been holding back. You said that you were a real demon, and I wanted to see what you mean by that. So far, I'm disappointed."

Raven's expression didn't change. "You won't be for long."

Angel's own expression darkened; her weapon turned into a giant sword, which she swung at Raven's neck as she lunged. Rather than be decapitated, Raven disappeared in a cloud of black feathers.

"Is that all you have?" Angel mocked, "Cheap tricks? And here I thought I'd be entertained, not bored."

When Raven didn't reply, or even reappear, Angel turned her attention to Warhawk, who raised his fists to defend the others.

"It seems the demon has run away," Angel said with false sweetness, "I guess I'll move on to the rest of you before hunting her down."

Just as she pulled her sword back, a giant clawed hand, made of black energy, grabbed her wrists and threw her to the side.

"**If you **_**ever **_**try to hurt them again," **a deep, menacing voice growled, **"it'll be the last thing you ever do."**

Angel turned to the source of the voice; for the first time in years, she felt a twinge of fear.

…

"Artemis, you must stop!" Vykin called out.

Artemis didn't listen; she kept running in the direction she'd seen Kid Flash go. She had to find him; he had been hurt when he'd tackled Racer away, and that explosion might have hurt him further. A tiny part of her mind suggested that he might be—she ruthlessly quashed those thoughts. She refused to believe it. Barry was alive; he had to be.

"Artemis, please wait!"

"Why!?" Artemis called out over her shoulder, barely glancing at Vykin. "Every second we waste is another second that Kid Flash needs our help!"

Vykin reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Artemis…"

"Let go!" Artemis thrashed, but Vykin was stronger.

"You need to listen to me," Vykin said calmly, "You have a communicator, correct?"

Artemis pulled the small device in question out of her ear. "Yeah, but Kid Flash's must have been damaged; I can't reach him!"

"That isn't what I mean," Vykin said, remarkably patient, considering how Artemis had treated him, "When I use my powers, I move earth and stone by influencing the metallic fragments present. I can _feel _the metal within. If I adjust to how the metal in your communicator feels…"

"You can find KF's!" Artemis finished, practically shoving the communicator into Vykin's hand. "Do it!"

Vykin closed his eyes for several seconds; one hand was gripped around the communicator, while the other began pointing, almost of its own accord, slightly to the right of where they'd been running.

"I believe he is within five hundred meters," Vykin said.

"You 'believe'?" Artemis asked.

"His communicator is there," Vykin said, then looked rueful, "However, I cannot tell if he has it on him."

"It's a good place to start," Artemis said and began running again, "Come on!"

Despite the injuries they'd sustained that day, both teens were in good-enough shape to run the distance in just a few minutes. It didn't take them long to find Kid Flash; he was sprawled out over some rocks at the bank of a river, water running over his legs. Artemis was about to wade through the river to get to him, but Vykin stopped her once again.

"My way will be faster," he said, raising a platform of earth for them to stand on, which he floated across the river, "And it is less wet."

Artemis gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Vykin."

"You are most…" Vykin sighed when Artemis vaulted off the platform when they were close enough, landing near Kid Flash and sprinting over to him. "… welcome."

"Come on, Barry, please be alive," Artemis whispered as she pulled Kid Flash out of the water and rolled him onto his back. "You can't… you still owe me dinner, you idiot!"

Artemis had never been one to pray, but she started reciting some old psalms in her mind as she checked Kid Flash's vitals. To her relief, he had a pulse, he was breathing, and thanks to his accelerated metabolism, he was already starting to heal. It would take a few days to recover from the cuts and bruises, and maybe a couple of weeks more if he had any fractures, but he would survive.

"He's alive!" Artemis announced.

"That's wonderful," Vykin said, "Now all we have to do is wait for him to recover further, and then we can move him away from the battle. I don't believe that either of us is capable of continuing the battle."

Artemis nodded absently as she ran her hand through Kid Flash's hair. After a few seconds of this, the speedster's eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, beautiful," he said weakly, reaching up to brush his gloved hand across Artemis' cheek, "I'm not dead, am I?"

"I don't know, tell me if this hurts." Artemis flicked her boyfriend's nose.

"Ow."

"Then you're alive," Artemis said, then adjusted herself so that Kid Flash's head was resting in her lap. "But if you _ever _scare me like that again, you won't be."

Vykin looked from one Human to the other. "Do I… need to give you some privacy?"

Artemis and Kid Flash blushed and sputtered denials; apparently, they'd already forgotten about the New God.

"So, uh," Kid Flash tried sitting up, but between Artemis' iron grip on his shoulders and his own protesting ribs, he gave up, "what did I miss?"

"I am uncertain," Vykin said, then pulled out a Motherbox and fiddled with it for a few seconds. "I believe that another of the Six Demons has been defeated, but the signals to the Motherboxes assigned to the other Forever People are distorted… or are gone entirely."

Artemis and Kid Flash shared a concerned look before Artemis spoke. "I'm sure your friends are okay, Vykin, and I bet the Six Demons will be taken down soon."

"The Six Demons, maybe," Kid Flash said in a shaky voice, "Brainiac, not so much."

"What are you talking about?" Artemis asked; she followed Kid Flash's pointing finger to across the river.

There, Brainiac was staring at them.

"Oh, we're so dead," Kid Flash whispered.

…

With time running out, Ken had been forced to reluctantly leave Cyborg behind, guarded only by a recovering Safari and the two injured Forever People. Along with Starfire and Sergeant Marvel, Ken flew towards the only lead they now had: a mass of darkness near the center of the forest, which had been steadily growing for the past few minutes.

"So Brain wanted to use the power of your transformation to fuel some Apokoliptan ritual to bring back Brainiac?" Ken asked Sergeant Marvel.

"I know, I'm sorry," Sergeant Marvel said, looking miserable, "If I'd known that that was what they were planning, I never would have gone with them."

Ken sighed. "Forget about it. You saved our lives, and anyone back home will tell you that you did the right thing. Hopefully, if we can destroy Brainiac before he gets too powerful, that's _all _anyone will say."

"And if we cannot destroy the Brainiac?" Starfire asked.

Ken smiled, though there wasn't any humor in it. "Then we'll be dead; I think a lecture would be kinda pointless then."

"Is he really that dangerous?" Starfire looked uncertain, and Ken didn't blame her; after all, the Team had saved the world a few times, along with the entire Justice League.

"Look, when he merged with Lex Luthor—" Ken raised an eyebrow when Sergeant Marvel blanched. "It's not like that. Anyway, they were pretty much God; if the League hadn't stopped them, they would have destroyed the entire universe. I don't know if this new Brainiac is that powerful, but if Sergeant Marvel is right, than he's stronger than he used to be. We can't risk him getting away; we find him, destroy him, and then we get back to the mission."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the entire forest began to shake. Trees and boulders toppled, crumbled or, to the heroes' alarm, flew through the air. Where the mass of darkness once was, a massive… Ken couldn't be sure if it was a vehicle, or a walking city! It stood on six enormous cable-like legs; each leg was attached to a giant circular body, which was topped with large, angular blocks. In the center, a long spire rose above all else.

For a long moment, Ken couldn't think; if he'd been completely Human, he probably wouldn't have been able to breathe.

"Well," he said finally, "they don't do anything small here, do they?"

He wasn't kidding; the giant machine in front of them was easily a thousand feet tall, and probably weighed as much as a small mountain.

Sergeant Marvel swallowed. "I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say that that's Nirvana."

"I am not sure that we can destroy that… thing in time to stop it," Starfire said, "What should we do?"

Ken hesitated for a moment. "If Brainiac's with the Six Demons, we'll probably find him there. If he's not… well, I guess this takes priority. We'll find Brainiac after we're done."

"If he doesn't find us first," Sergeant Marvel muttered.

…

"What do we do?" Artemis asked quietly.

"I have no clue," Kid Flash replied. "Brainiac is kinda out of our league."

"I could try opening a Boom-Tube," Vykin offered, "but we would have to move quickly once it opens."

"KF isn't in any shape to move, quickly or otherwise!" Artemis protested.

"Besides," Kid Flash added, "I think that if Brainiac wanted us dead, he'd have killed us by now."

The three of them looked back at Brainiac, who still stared at them. Finally, he lifted off the ground and floated over to them; Vykin ripped a chunk of earth into the air, preparing to attack, while Artemis quickly drew an arrow.

"Don't come any closer!" she warned.

To their surprise, Brainiac halted a few feet away from them; he focused his unblinking gaze on Artemis, then on Kid Flash.

"He is damaged," Brainiac said, pointing at the speedster.

"Your point?" Artemis demanded.

"He requires medical attention." Brainiac turned to Vykin. "You have access to Boom-Tube technology. You can send him to your people to be repaired."

"That was kind of the plan," Artemis said. "Why aren't you, well, trying to kill us?"

Brainiac frowned. "I have no reason to inflict harm upon you. However, I require your assistance. The New God can take your ally to received medical care while you assist me."

"Assist you with what?" Artemis asked, still aiming her arrow at Brainiac's face.

"There is a question that I wish to ask the one known as Sergeant Marvel," Brainiac said. "However, I believe that she will attack me if I approach her alone. The same could be said for your other allies. I require a mediator."

Artemis lowered her bow, more out of shock than because she believed Brainiac, then shared astonished looks with Kid Flash and Vykin.

"You want me… to keep Sergeant Marvel and the rest of my friends from attacking you?" Artemis blinked rapidly. "Did I hit my head or something?"

Brainiac tilted his head. "You do not show signs of significant cranial trauma." He then looked to the side; if it was anyone else, Artemis would have thought that Brainiac looked guilty. "I have already been forced to defend myself against one group of your allies; they did not suffer permanent damage. It would be preferable if further incidents were avoided."

Artemis wasn't sure what to think. On the one hand, Brainiac had admitted to attacking one of the squads, and there was every possibility that helping him was a trap. On the other hand, if she refused, there was every chance that Brainiac would simply kill them all; if there was a chance to keep Barry from further injury…

"Okay," she said, "I'll help you."

"Artemis, no!" Kid Flash tried to get up, only to fall back with a grunt. "You can't trust a word that robot says!"

Brainiac looked down at him. "I have no reason to lie."

Artemis knelt down and helped her boyfriend into a sitting-position. "If there's a chance that Brainiac is on the level… well, he wants _my _help, not yours."

"Artemis, you can't just go off with him alone," Kid Flash said urgently.

"I don't really have a choice," Artemis said, then kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you when this is over, okay?"

Kid Flash scowled, but reluctantly nodded. "Okay, babe."

Vykin opened a Boom-Tube, then gently lifted up Kid Flash. "I will locate and move anyone else who is injured. I will also try and get reinforcements, either from my people or from Earth."

Artemis caught the hidden meaning behind the words: if Brainiac was a threat, they'd need all the help they could get.

Once Vykin and Kid Flash were gone, Artemis turned to Brainiac. "So, where are we headed?"

"It is likely that Sergeant Marvel and your other allies will be heading to Nirvana," Brainiac said. "We will have greater odds of encountering them if we go there as well."

"Where _is _Nirvana, anyway?" Artemis asked.

Brainiac turned and pointed; Artemis felt her jaw drop when she saw the giant city walking away from them. She had been so focused on finding Kid Flash, and then on Brainiac, that she hadn't noticed.

"Okay… didn't expect that," Artemis said. "I guess the next question is how are we going to get there?"

Without a word, Brainiac swept Artemis off her feet and began to fly towards Nirvana.

_I am on a planet inhabited by alien gods, fighting _other _alien gods, and now I'm being carried by Brainiac, _Artemis thought. _I don't think there's a limit to how weird this day will get._

…

Angel didn't know how long she'd been screaming, but it had to have been a while, because there was no longer any noise coming from her mouth. At first, the screams had been of rage as she threw everything she had at Raven, but whatever power the half-demon was now using deflected every attack with only some effort.

After Raven had apparently gotten bored just defending herself, she went on the attack. What looked like black bolts of lightning struck Angel, changing her screams of anger into screams of pain. And then a tendril of dark energy had grabbed her and dragged her within Raven's cloak; her screams had then become those of terror.

By the time that Angel had somehow freed herself, she had screamed herself raw, and she staggered away from Raven as fast as she could. However, Raven wasn't having any of that; she leisurely drifted after the New God, occasionally tripping her with a tendril of dark energy when it looked like Angel was getting too far away.

"**What's the matter?" **Raven mocked. **"Do you only put up a fight when you know you'll win? I guess a demon trumps an angel."**

Angel tried backing away, only to fall onto her rear; she shook in terror as Raven loomed over her.

"Mercy…" she whimpered.

Raven's four eyes narrowed. **"You've never showed any of your victims mercy. You weren't going to show my friends mercy. Why should I offer you any?"**

"Because that would make you as bad as her," a voice said from behind her. "Do you really want to be like that?"

Raven turned to see Warhawk; he was a little battered, but otherwise okay. The calm look he gave her was enough to cool her rage; her eyes returned to normal, and she shrunk down to her usual height.

"Sorry," she muttered, blinking back tears. "I… I lost control for a bit."

Warhawk gently wrapped his arms around her, followed by his wings. "But you didn't cross the line. You were willing to listen. More importantly, you saved all our lives. I'm proud of you."

"That's it?" Both heroes turned to see Angel drag herself upright. "A few kind words from the false angel and you go back to your Human façade? How pathetic."

"You're the one who can barely stand," Warhawk retorted. "Who's the pathetic one?"

Angel snarled, her weapon turning into a giant sword. She charged, but in her weakened state, Warhawk was able to weave around the blow; he let go of Raven with one arm and used it to backhand Angel into the ground.

"I guess a false angel is still better than whatever you are," he told the unconscious god.

Raven's mouth curled upwards. "I already used a line like that."

"I heard." Warhawk raised an eyebrow at her. "You've been hanging out with Kid Flash too long."

Raven's hood hid her blush, but Warhawk could tell that she was embarrassed. "Come on, I need to check on Seeker."

When the two of them returned to the others with the unconscious Angel in tow, they were surprised to find Vykin with them, an open Boom-Tube behind him.

"Good, you are all right," Vykin said, then looked at their captive. "And you have defeated another of the Six Demons; that makes at least two."

"What are you doing here, Vykin?" Warhawk asked. "Where's the rest of your squad?"

"Kid Flash was seriously injured, and Artemis is going after Nirvana with Brainiac," Vykin said. "I am moving our injured comrades to a safer location, which is why—"

"Whoa, hold up!" Warhawk interrupted. "Artemis is with Brainiac? The same Brainiac who was destroyed twenty years ago? The one who almost wiped out the entire _universe_!?"

"Correct. He seems to be helping us now."

Warhawk stared at him, then at Raven, who looked just as confused as he was. "This is definitely the weirdest mission I've ever been on."

"We should go after Artemis," Raven suggested. "We can't let her go off with Brainiac by herself."

Warhawk was going to agree, but a pained groan from Seeker made him pause. Raven's empathic powers allowed her to quickly pick up on what he was thinking.

"Artemis went off without one of us with her. I don't want you to do the same."

"Vykin is the only one who can use a Boom-Tube, and you're the only one who can keep Seeker alive," Warhawk argued back. "Besides, how much energy did you use up fighting Angel?"

As much as Raven hated to admit it, she _was_ tired. Tapping into her demonic heritage was taxing, and Seeker's condition was still serious; she would need the power she had left to keep her friend alive.

"Fine," she grumbled, "just… stay safe, okay?"

Warhawk smiled as he stepped away. "I'll do my best."

With that, he flew off towards Nirvana, which was walking away from them. Raven allowed herself to watch him leave for a few seconds, then turned to Vykin and the injured Serifan.

"Come on, make yourselves useful," she said in a low tone as she picked up Ship. "Get Miss Martian and Seeker through that Boom-Tube. I have work to do."

…

Safari sat in front of Cyborg's cocoon, hugging her legs to her chest. Vykin had arrived to take Dreamer and Moonrider to safety, but Safari had flat-out refused to leave Victor's side, not until she saw that he was okay with her own eyes. In the back of her mind, she wondered if this was how Ken felt when Victor was hurt the first time, before he became Cyborg. It must have been worse for him, in a way, she realized; he had so much power, but when his friend was hurt, there was nothing he could do.

_At least I don't have that kind of problem, _Safari mused. She was more powerful than the average person, but she was probably the weakest metahuman on the Team, though that wasn't something that bothered her.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when Victor's cocoon began to shake; other than the occasional twitch, it hadn't moved, so the violent trembling was a radical change. A few seconds later, a metal arm punched through the shell; it was soon joined by a second one, and the two limbs tore the cocoon apart.

"Oh, man," a familiar voice groaned, "did someone get the number of whatever hit me?"

Safari would have made a joke, but she was too busy staring at the rebuilt Cyborg. For the most part, he seemed the same, but his metal plates had an almost organic quality to them. Bright-blue lines ran up the sides of his limbs and torso, while another line went across his organic eye. The mechanical side of his face was a seamless, albeit metal, replica of his flesh-and-blood half; it was vastly different from the angular plates he used to have.

"Victor?" She asked timidly. "Are you okay?"

Cyborg looked at her for a moment, almost as if he didn't recognize her, then shrugged. "Yeah, I think so. What did I miss?"

Safari stood up, trying not to wince as she pulled at her still-healing injuries, and pointed at the remnants of the cocoon. "We fought Midnight, but we… we lost, and you got hurt. The New Gods put a Motherbox in you to save your life."

Cyborg frowned as he accessed his systems, and immediately noticed a change. "Whoa!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, just…" Cyborg shook his head. "Before, I always had to activate my systems with a mental command, like my brain was clicking a mouse or pushing a button. Now, it feels as easy as breathing, and it's a lot faster. I'm like Cyborg 2.0!"

Safari felt a bit relieved; if Cyborg was still so enthusiastic, it was a good sign that he was still the same person on the inside.

It also made her calm enough to try joking. "Well, since you were in a cocoon, I thought you were going to come out as a butterfly. Is it too late to go with that option?"

Cyborg laughed with his typical, booming way, but it faded when Safari got closer and he saw her injuries.

"All right, enough about me," he said seriously. "Are _you _okay?"

"I'll be fine," Safari said, putting on a brave face. "We still have to stop Nirvana, so let's go!"

Cyborg put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You're not going anywhere until I see how bad your injuries are."

"Don't even think about scanning me."

Cyborg's mechanical eye glowed brighter. "Scan complete."

Safari threw up her hands. "Unbelievable."

Cyborg scowled. "You've got a dozen contusions, a concussion, and five hairline fractures, one of which is on your _skull_. You're healing, but not fast enough."

"I didn't stay with you while you were getting your upgrade just so that you'd leave me behind!" Safari protested.

Cyborg smiled and gently wrapped his arms around her; he idly noticed that, while he'd had good control over his arms after he'd been rebuilt, he no longer felt like he was deliberately restraining himself.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Look at it this way: you made sure that I was okay, and thanks to you, _I _can make sure that everyone else is okay."

Safari mumbled something incomprehensible into Cyborg's chest, but nodded her assent. As much as she wanted to help, she knew that she was in no shape to fight someone like Midnight again.

Cyborg took a step back; his eye glowed again. "I've locked on to the others. Some of them are headed to Nirvana—and _wow_, that thing is huge—but most are just outside the forest."

"That's where Vykin was taking everyone who was hurt," Safari said.

"Got it. Well, let's see if I can…" Cyborg held out one hand, and a Boom-Tube appeared a short distance away. "Oh, cool! Looks like I can tap into the energies on this planet to open Boom-Tubes!"

Safari sighed. "I guess I'll tell the others that you're okay, and you're going back to fight. Just don't get your butt kicked again, okay? You're only allowed to scare me like that once. Ever."

"I'll do my best," Cyborg grinned, then gave her a quick kiss before activating his jetpack and flying towards the distant form of Nirvana. Safari watched him fly off for a few seconds, then headed through the Boom-Tube, swearing that, if Cyborg got himself killed, she'd find a way to kill him again.

…

Warhawk heard the sound of something approaching him; he twisted in midair to see Cyborg, though it took him a moment to recognize his teammate.

"Whoa," he said, as Cyborg pulled up alongside him, "what the heck happened to you?"

"Apparently, this is what happens when you mix cybernetics made on Earth with tech made by gods," Cyborg said nonchalantly. "I'm back, and better than ever!"

"Awesome," Warhawk said, though he was aware that he was missing a lot of information. "Any word on the others?"

Cyborg nodded. "Ken, Sergeant Marvel, Starfire, Artemis, and the two of us are all heading for Nirvana. Superboy's squad is MIA, but everyone else is regrouping outside the forest."

"Superboy will be fine," Warhawk said confidently, "he'll catch up to us eventually."

Sure enough, a shout from below them caught their attention, and Superboy rocketed up to their position. He was only there for a moment before he began to fall, but Cyborg grabbed his arm just in time.

"We were just wondering about you," Cyborg said.

"Got ambushed," Superboy growled. "Sphere and Wolf got hurt, but they're on their way out of the forest. I saw you guys on my way to the walking city. That's Nirvana, isn't it?"

"It is," Warhawk confirmed. "So, who ambushed you, and how badly did you beat their face in?"

Superboy glowered. "I actually lost," he admitted. "Brainiac is tougher than I thought."

"Sorry, did you say Brainiac?" Cyborg asked.

"Right, I forgot to mention that he's back, too, and he's with Artemis right now," Warhawk said. "The good news is that at least two of the Demons are down."

"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel better," Cyborg muttered.

It took a few more minutes for the three of them to land on Nirvana; despite its colossal footsteps, its movements were surprisingly smooth.

"Do you guys know where we're supposed to go now?" Superboy asked.

Warhawk shrugged. "I think our best bet would be to take out this thing's power source; that usually works."

"That might be harder than you think," Cyborg said, already scanning. "I don't know how, but this thing's energy is spread out perfectly even; it's impossible to find out where its generator is. Heck, it might not _have _a source of power as we understand it."

"Is there a Plan B?" Superboy asked with a scowl. "Because I really don't want to punch this thing to death, we'd be here all day."

"I've got an idea," Cyborg said. "I just locked on to Artemis' bio-signature. Since I'm the least hurt, I've got the best chance of helping her if she needs it, while you two link up with Ken. Superboy, you should be close enough to find his group with your super-hearing."

Warhawk looked at Superboy, who nodded. "I can hear him, and Sergeant Marvel and Starfire."

"All right, we'll grab them and circle back for you and Artemis," Warhawk said to Cyborg. "Just be careful; Brainiac could still be nearby."

Cyborg grinned. "Don't sweat it; time for _me _to do the saving!"

…

"I don't know about you two, but I am _completely _lost," Ken admitted after several minutes of exploring Nirvana, then turned to Sergeant Marvel. "I don't suppose you learned anything about Nirvana when you were with the Six Demons?"

Sergeant Marvel sighed. "Other than that Brainiac was needed to unlock it, no."

"Perhaps Brainiac knows how to stop Nirvana?" Starfire suggested. "He had to know enough about it to find it, correct?"

"That's assuming he's even on the planet anymore," Ken said. "For all we know, he's halfway to Jupiter."

"No, he's here," Sergeant Marvel said quietly; she saw the strange looks the other two were giving her and blushed. "I don't know how, but when my powers were used to bring him back to life, I felt some kind of connection with him. It's faint, but I know he's still on the planet."

Ken gritted his teeth. "As if the Six Demons weren't bad enough; we don't have enough people on our side to take on Brainiac!"

Sergeant Marvel shrugged. "He might not be evil."

"I'm pretty sure the robot whose sole goal is destroying the universe counts as evil," Ken countered.

"He saved my life!"

Ken opened his mouth, but no sound came out; finally, he shrugged. "Okay, you got me there, but one act of kindness doesn't mean he's suddenly one of the good guys. Come on, let's get focused; we can talk about Brainiac when we're not trying to fight gods."

As the three of them continued walking, Sergeant Marvel glanced at Starfire. "Does it bother you that he was able to say that last part with a straight face?"

Starfire grimaced, but shook her head. "Our job is… very strange. I fear that I am getting used to things like this."

"Crud. I was hoping that at least one of us was still sane."

…

"We have arrived," Brainiac said as he landed.

"I can see that," Artemis said crossly, "now put me down!"

The blond girl scrambled out of Brainiac's arms and took a few steps away; she had no intention of trusting the robot any time soon, no matter what he said. If it wasn't for the fact that her arrows wouldn't do anything to him, she'd have one aimed at his head.

"We should move quickly," Brainiac said. "Nirvana will reach its target in two-point-two Earth hours."

"I hope you know how to stop this thing," Artemis said, "because I don't think I have an arrow big enough to blow it up."

"It will require the assistance of your allies," Brainiac said. "We cannot do it alone."

"I like to call them my _friends_," Artemis snapped, "and yeah, I'll try to keep them from turning you into scrap long enough to save the day. After that, though, all bets are off."

Brainiac said nothing, instead turning and walking towards the center of Nirvana. Seeing that she wouldn't be getting further conversation, Artemis followed him. Perversely, she was glad that Brainiac was on her side at the moment; considering what the Team was facing, having someone as powerful as the AI watching her back was a little comforting.

…

Ken stopped, but before Starfire or Sergeant Marvel could ask what was wrong, he turned to them with a grin.

"Finally, some good news!" He said, then pointed off to the side. "I just heard Superboy, Warhawk, and Cyborg talking; they're on Nirvana, only a couple miles away!"

"Awesome!" Sergeant Marvel floated upward. "Let's link up with them and see if we can stop this thing!"

Ken was going to agree, but then he saw what was flying towards his teammate.

"Look out!" Ken jumped into the air, blocking the fist that would have hit Sergeant Marvel in the back of the head with his arm.

The three heroes glared at Cobra, who steadied himself on his giant snake, which had sprouted large wings. The New God laughed at them.

"Well, well," he said, "looks like I get my fight after all."

"You two go on ahead," Ken said, not taking his eyes off of Cobra, "I'll handle this guy and catch up when I can."

"We can take him!" Sergeant Marvel protested.

"The mission comes first," Ken said with a tone that dared his teammates to argue. "Find out how to stop Nirvana. That's an order."

Sergeant Marvel and Starfire looked at each other uneasily, but nodded and flew off. Cobra and his snake tried chasing after them, but Ken shot a wave of fire in their direction; Cobra and Cubelios easily swerved around it, but it gave the two girls enough time to put some distance between them.

"I don't normally do this," Ken said, "but I'm going to give you one chance to surrender. I suggest you take it."

Cobra scoffed. "All together or one at a time, it doesn't matter; you're going to die, kid!"

"Bring it on!" Ken shouted, and the two of them flew towards each other; one was intent on killing a world, and the other was intent on stopping him.

…

"This could be a problem," Artemis said, her voice calmer than she felt.

To make matters worse, Brainiac nodded his head. "Indeed. We are at a disadvantage against this opponent."

Across a dusty street, Midnight smiled. "Only two of you? At least I had to wake up to fight the last ones."

"Here's something to wake up to!" A voice shouted, and a beam of energy carved a furrow into the ground between Midnight and his opponents.

"Cyborg?" Artemis blinked as her teammate landed in front of her. "What happened to you?"

"Long story," Cyborg said, glaring at Midnight, "but this freak is the reason behind it. Ready for round two, you little punk?"

Midnight quietly laughed. "It's not often I get to beat someone twice. I think I'll enjoy this."

Cyborg's natural smile fell away, replaced by a grim frown. "That makes two of us!"

**And, done! I'm really sorry about taking so freaking long with this chapter, and the only excuse I have isn't a good one. See, I was writing Cycles Upon Cycles, and I've been making a lot of progress with that story, but every time I tried to get back to Unlimited Justice, I could only come up with ideas for Cycles. That story has become that annoying little kid that keeps screaming for attention and will only shut up when it runs out of energy and takes a nap. Finally, it took that nap, and I'll see about getting this arc finished.**

**Actually, you know what? I am going to **_**promise **_**you, right now, that I will not write for any other stories until this arc is finished. That's only 2 or 3 chapters at the most, since the next chapters are going to be much longer than what I've had so far.**

**This chapter didn't have a whole lot to talk about, though I am happy to introduce the Cyborg from Justice League War! I really liked his design. Beyond that, this chapter was mostly to set up the final battles.**

**Next Chapter: Ken battles Cobra, but even Ken 10 may not have the powers to beat this enemy! The rematch between Cyborg and Midnight begins, and Brainiac shows his true colors! Meanwhile, Seeker discovers Nirvana's terrible purpose; can the Team stop the Six Demons in time, or will this be the last day of the New Gods?**

**This is my Muffin! There are many like it, but this one is mine!**


	8. Gods, Demons, and Heroes, Part 5

**BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY OC'S BELONG TO ME, BUT EVEN IF I LIKE THEM, I WON'T GIVE THEM EASY FIGHTS.**

**I'm so sorry for taking so long with this chapter. I had a major case of writer's block, college is really rough right now, and life has been throwing all kinds of curveballs at me lately. And yes, I know I said that I'd be focusing exclusively on this story, only to start a completely new one. Sorry. You should know that, when it comes to writing, I tend to lie through my teeth. I am a horrible person.**

Unlimited Justice, Part 2

Chapter 8

Gods, Demons, and Heroes, Part 5

**New Genesis, January 25, 17:43 EST (Earth Time)**

Seeker blinked as she regained consciousness again. This was the third time it had happened to her since the crash, and it was getting annoying.

"How long was I out this time?" She muttered to herself as she resumed typing on her holo-computer.

"Five minutes," Raven said; she had been checking the unconscious Miss Martian, but walked over to put a glowing hand on Seeker's forehead. "You didn't pass out, you just fell asleep. You're really tired."

Seeker scowled; she had trained to minimize the amount of sleep she needed, so this shouldn't have happened!

Raven's empathic abilities picked up on the older girl's frustration before she could voice it. "You're still hurt. Your body is telling you to rest."

"Well my brain is telling me that I need to stay awake," Seeker argued. "I've almost cracked the information on Nirvana."

"Do not worry," Vykin said as he stepped through another Boom-Tube with Sphere and Wolf, the last to be brought back. "Many of your strongest teammates have boarded Nirvana. I am certain that they will destroy it."

Seeker resolutely ignored him, turning instead to her computer. She'd been given a job, and she wasn't in the habit of failing. To her surprise, her computer soon let out a beep, indicating that it had found the files she'd been after.

"I got it," she said quietly, then smiled at Raven. "I found it!"

Raven gave her a flat look. "Then hurry up and read it so that you can get some rest."

Seeker was feeling too good about finally discovering the elusive files, so she stuck her tongue out at the other girl before looking at the information. Her good mood soon vanished as she read through it.

"What is wrong?" Vykin asked, seeing her go pale.

"You might want to get the other Forever People up and moving," Seeker said in a shaky voice. "We're going to need them."

…

Ken hissed as he dodged another of Cobra's attacks. Soon after their fight had begun, the guy's arms had been covered in reptilian scales, and his claws were powerful enough to actually hurt. Ken had tried using his intangibility to avoid getting hurt, but while he was like that, he couldn't use any of his other powers, and by the time he became solid and attacked, Cobra had moved out of the way or had gotten in his face to hit him first.

"You're tough, kid, but you're out of your league!" Cobra boasted. "I know your moves before you make them!"

"You're reading my mind?" Ken muttered. "Fantastic."

Cobra only smirked as his giant snake swooped down towards Ken. The half-Kryptonian responded by shooting away on jets of fire, but Cobra intercepted him, turning to get in his way before Ken had even left the ground. Ken cut his fire and tried to go intangible, but was a second too slow; Cobra sent him plummeting to the surface of Nirvana with a slash across Ken's chest.

Ken gritted his teeth and rubbed the wound. His nanotech-infused outfit was already repairing the damage and the cuts on his flesh—something he wasn't used to seeing—were healing, but unusual purple marks were still visible. It hadn't taken him long after the first cut to figure out what Cobra had left behind; the slow weakening of his entire body told him that he'd been poisoned. His healing factor was fighting the toxin, but he was getting hurt faster than he was recovering; if this kept up, he was going to die.

Dying was something Ken had never really considered before. True, he'd had some close calls, like during the fight against Galatea, but most of his injuries from that fight had been flesh wounds and had healed within hours, and he'd had backup. Being poisoned was something he had never experienced before, and it actually scared him a little.

"You _should _be scared!" Cobra yelled as he swiped at Ken again. "There's nothing more terrifying than a slow death by poison!"

Ken scowled, then fired a bolt of lightning from his mouth, but Cobra's snake was already moving out of the way.

_At least it doesn't look like he can communicate telepathically, _Ken thought; he had seen Cobra lean subtly on certain parts of the snake, indicating where it needed to fly.

"You're not the only one who can attack at a distance, punk!" Cobra took a deep breath, then fired a cloud of purple gas from his mouth. It enveloped Ken just as he ducked into the ruins of what looked like a house.

Ken didn't need to breathe, but the poison still infected him by seeping in through his pores. It didn't actually hurt when it hit, but Ken could feel himself slowing down, and his fingers and toes were starting to go numb. He considered running to buy himself time to recover, but if he did that, Cobra would go after Starfire and Sergeant Marvel; and if that happened, the Team might not have enough power in their corner to destroy Nirvana.

"Caught between a rock and a hard place, huh?" Cobra mocked from behind.

A small, rational part of Ken's mind realized that the poison was starting to affect his senses if his super-hearing hadn't caught Cobra's approach, but the rest of him simply _reacted_. An instinctive reverse-kick knocked Cobra off of his perch and through several walls. Without the New God, the giant snake lost its early-warning system; Ken took full advantage of that and drove his fist into the reptile's face, sending it crashing next to Cobra.

"Crud," Ken said softly, "I was hoping to separate them."

Cobra shook himself out of his daze and saw his snake hissing in pain. He glared at Ken in pure hatred.

"How _dare _you!" He roared. "You're dead, kid!"

Cobra launched himself forward, and Ken didn't have the benefit of unthinking action this time; poisonous claws cut into the side of his neck before he could go intangible.

Behind the weakening effects of the poison, Ken felt worried. At this rate, he would never beat Cobra; he'd have to try something creative… or desperate.

…

"Superboy! Warhawk!" Sergeant Marvel smiled at the two boys as she and Starfire landed.

"Glad to see you're okay, Sarge," Warhawk said with a hint of relief. "You _are _okay, right?"

Sergeant Marvel shrugged. "Other than being forced to bring back Brainiac, I'm fine."

Superboy rubbed his chest where Brainiac had blasted him and scowled. "Yeah, thanks for that."

"He attacked you?" Sergeant Marvel winced. "I'm sorry."

"We'll talk about it later," Superboy grumbled, then looked around. "Where's Ken? I thought I heard him."

Starfire pointed in the direction she and Sergeant Marvel had come. "He is fighting the one called Cobra. He told us to find you and stop the Nirvana from doing…whatever it is that it does."

Warhawk nodded. "Okay, well, Cyborg went off to fight Midnight and told us the same thing."

"Any ideas on where to start?" Sergeant Marvel asked.

Superboy thought about it, then began looking around, cycling through various spectrums until he noticed something.

"There's a lot of electromagnetic activity coming from that tower in the center," he said, pointing to the tower in question. "It's a higher amount than anywhere else."

"It's a place to start," Warhawk said, spreading his wings. "Let's go."

Those who could fly took off, while Superboy jumped from the rooftops of buildings, and they reached the base of the tower in minutes. The building was tall and featureless, save for the glowing symbols that danced around the top; it was also the only structure that had any power running through it.

The four heroes stopped at the base of the tower, then looked at each other.

"So… what do we do?" Superboy asked. "Do we just smash it?"

"You can try," Brain said as he stepped out of the tower's shadow with a smirk, "but you will have to get past me, first."

Superboy cracked his knuckles. "Works for me."

Sergeant Marvel glanced at Brain, then at her teammates. "Warhawk, Starfire, go see about taking this thing down; Superboy and I can handle this chump."

"Are you certain?" Starfire asked.

"Yeah, Superboy and I are the most durable against him," Sergeant Marvel said. "Remember, he took down Ken and me when he had that power-up. He's still dangerous without it."

Warhawk and Starfire shared an uneasy glance; they didn't want to abandon their teammates in a fight, but they also didn't like the idea of fighting someone who had taken down two of their biggest guns like it was nothing.

"Just be careful," Warhawk said, and then he and Starfire began to fly to the top of the tower.

Brain pointed his staff at the two of them. "I think not."

"I think _yes_!" Superboy shouted, running at his full super-speed and crashing into Brain shoulder-first. The clone then raised a fist to punch him, but Brain blasted him back with a stream of green energy.

"I am the leader of the Six Demons for a reason, boy," Brain said as he dusted himself off. "I am not so easily defeated."

"That's why we're both fighting you," Sergeant Marvel fired bolts of magic lightning that Brain only barely avoided. "Besides, I owe you for our first fight, and for kidnapping me."

Brain scowled at her. "I should have made sure that Cobra killed you immediately after Brainiac's revival." He vanished in a blur, then reappeared behind her. "That is a mistake that I plan to rectify."

Sergeant Marvel tried to fly out of the way, but Brain was faster; beams of energy slammed into her back, knocking her to the ground. Brain got off another shot before Superboy jumped into the air and clocked him across the jaw.

While Brain tumbled back, Superboy glanced at Sergeant Marvel; she was conscious, but dazed, so he would be on his own until she snapped out of it. That was all the thought he could spare for his teammate, though; he had a fight to win.

"What chance do you think you have?" Brain asked, looking more irritated than hurt. "Your friends fell before me, and they were much more powerful than you."

"Power isn't everything," Superboy said, then ran at Brain, who fired several beams of energy. Rather than simply take the hits, as he usually did, Superboy dodged, rolled, and jumped over each attack. He knew what kind of damage Brain could do, and he couldn't afford to get tossed around, not when lives were at stake.

"Oh, but power _is _everything!" Brain laughed, even as he flew over Superboy's charge. "It is the reason that I abandoned Apokolips, why I led my brethren to the home of our enemies. The power I seek, the power I _have_, is worth any risk!"

_Wow, is he monologuing? _Superboy wondered. _I've heard stories about villains doing that, but… wow, it's just as stupid as everyone says._

Seeing that his attacks were either missing or not doing enough damage, Brain tried a new move. He pointed two fingers at Superboy and fired another beam of energy; this one, however, had what looked like a line of fire coiled around the green beam. It was much faster than Brain's previous attacks, and when it hit Superboy in the shoulder, the clone was shocked to feel it rip right through him!

With a scream of agony, Superboy fell to his hands and knees. The hole in his shoulder was already healing, but the pain was sointense; only Kryptonite had ever hurt so much, but at least _that _hadn't impaled him!

Brain stood over him with a triumphant smile, his hand poised to launched another attack. "Goodbye, Kryptonian."

Superboy's eyes narrowed as Brain fired. He didn't use his super-speed as much as Ken, preferring to jump into the air, the closest he could come to flying; however, that didn't mean that he couldn't move when he wanted to, and it was his shoulder that was injured, not his leg. Brain's piercing-attack seemed to travel in slow-motion, allowing Superboy to weave around it, with some effort, and then drive his fist into Brain's stomach.

Brain flew backwards, right into Sergeant Marvel's own fist, and was then driven into the ground.

"What took you so long?" Superboy panted.

"Hey, this guy hits hard!" Sergeant Marvel protested.

"Brainiac hit harder!"

"Enough!" Brain roared as he rose to his feet. "You maggots think you can defeat _me_? I have given pause to even Darkseid; mortals such as you have no hope of _surviving_, much less winning!"

Sergeant Marvel glanced at Superboy. "This guy is annoying me, can I punch him again?"

Superboy grinned. "Go ahead, but save some for me."

The fight resumed. Brain used his super-speed/teleportation to get around the heroes and attack them from behind, but his attacks were either turned into glancing hits or outright avoided thanks to his targets' own super-speed. Sergeant Marvel fired bolts of lightning from her hands, and if Superboy couldn't get close enough to punch or kick, he would rip a chunk of stone from the ground and hurl it.

Despite his claims, Brain knew that fighting both of these superheroes at once, without the boost in power that came with proximity to the other Demons, was risky. He needed to even the odds. He fired a web of energy at Sergeant Marvel from his staff; spread out as they were, the tendrils that managed to hit her did little damage, but that wasn't the objective. Superboy was the weaker target, and if he could be defeated sooner, he could focus all his energy on Sergeant Marvel.

With Sergeant Marvel distracted, Brain aimed his free hand at Superboy; the clone saw the move and tried to jump out of the way, but was a second too late. Brain's piercing-attack, intended for Superboy's chest, instead punched a small hole right through Superboy's leg, just below the knee; while the wound wouldn't kill him, it would still take a while for the clone to recover, and with one leg disabled, he was effectively out of the fight.

Sergeant Marvel heard Superboy's scream before she saw the injury; while normally a gentle soul, the sight of her friend in so much pain forced kindness to the back of her mind. Lightning crackled around her entire body, even sparking around her eyes.

"You…" she said slowly, "just made a _very _big mistake."

For a brief instant, Brain thought that she was right.

In a blur of motion, Sergeant Marvel appeared right in front of Brain, then hit him with an uppercut to the jaw. Brain flew fifty feet in the air, and would have flown higher, but Sergeant Marvel flew past him, her body already forming the spinning kick that knocked the wind out of Brain and smashed him into the ground hard enough to cause nearby buildings to shudder.

Sergeant Marvel hovered over the cloud of dust the impact had made, waiting for it to clear so that she could see her handiwork. To her surprise, however, another web of green tendrils stabbed through the dust, wrapped around her, and then slammed her into the ground.

"I told you," Brain said as he stepped into view, "I am the leader of the Six Demons for a reason."

True, Brain was on his feet again and strong enough to keep fighting, but he was by no means unharmed. He was covered in cuts and bruises, and he was leaning heavily on his staff. He glared down at Sergeant Marvel and aimed his free hand at her; energy began gathering around his fingers, but before he could kill her, a silver blur swooped down and punched him in the face.

"Starfire, go!" Warhawk punched Brain one more time before flying out of the way, giving Starfire the opening she needed to hit Brain in the chest with a trio of starbolts.

With Brain distracted, Sergeant Marvel had no trouble freeing herself. "What are you two doing here? You're supposed to be stopping this thing!"

Warhawk shrugged. "We couldn't figure any of it out, so we decided it would be better to help you beat this chump, and then you and Superboy can smash stuff."

At the mention of Superboy, Sergeant Marvel glanced at her fallen friend. He wasn't bleeding, which was good, but he couldn't stand up; then again, if they beat Brain and held the tower, they could afford giving Superboy the time he needed to heal.

"Some assistance would be most appreciated, please!" Starfire called out as she swerved around a barrage of Brain's energy-attacks.

Sergeant Marvel flew low to the ground, catching Brain's ankles and knocking him over. "That was because you said 'please', Star."

Starfire smiled. "Shall we resume kicking the butt?"

Warhawk cracked his knuckles. "With pleasure."

Outnumbered even more than before, Brain filled the sky with beams of energy, but the three heroes never gave him an easy target, constantly flying around or behind him. One of the girls would unbalance him with ranged attacks, leaving him open for Warhawk to punch him. Brain did get some hits in, but they were minor, and he began to tire.

"I think you've got a shot!" Warhawk shouted to Sergeant Marvel. "Go for it!"

Sergeant Marvel flew a hundred feet up, directly above Brain, then dive-bombed towards him, one fist covered in lightning; in a massive blast, she dug a twenty-foot crater into the surface of Nirvana, with Brain at the bottom.

Even with all that, Brain was still conscious. "I… am no so easily vanquished," he wheezed.

Sergeant Marvel was tired, but she still had one trick left. "That's why I can do _this_." She hefted Brain above her head. "SHAZAM!"

A bolt of lightning came down, striking them both; Brain, burned and unconscious, was dropped to the ground by Mary Batson, whose normal Human arms could no longer support him.

Warhawk gave a low whistle. "Well… that was something."

Starfire nodded. "That was most impressive."

"Yeah, it was," Superboy grumbled. "Now can someone help me up?"

Warhawk stifled a laugh. "I'll get him."

While Warhawk helped Superboy, Starfire flew down and pulled Mary out of the crater. She left Brain where he lay; the New Gods could pick him up when this was over. If they had stayed a moment longer, they would have seen one of Brain's tattoos fade away.

"Now what?" Mary asked.

"Well, you transform again and start smashing the tower," Warhawk suggested, pointing at the tower in question. "We saw a lot of things that looked like control consoles, but we couldn't understand the language, so finding the off-switch isn't gonna happen."

Mary nodded. "Yeah, I'll take care of it. SHAZAM!"

A bolt of lightning later, Sergeant Marvel flew up to the top of the tower, but just as she drew her fist back to start smashing, she felt… something. It was an unusual sensation, like a tugging on her very soul. Even stranger was how the sensation was tugging her in a specific direction. The instant she looked in that direction, she saw a large cloud of dust kick up; obviously, something was happening over there.

"Guys, I think Superboy is going to have to handle this for me," she called down to the others.

"Oh, come on!" Warhawk cried out, though his exasperation wasn't aimed at her. "What's going on now!?"

"Not sure," Sergeant Marvel admitted. "I just have this weird feeling that I need to go that way." She pointed in the direction of 'that way'.

"Is this one of those 'Wisdom of Solomon' things?" Superboy asked.

"No, I think this is one of those 'my powers are acting weird and I don't know why' things."

Starfire knelt down to inspect Superboy's leg. "Will you heal soon?"

Superboy glanced up at the sky; the sun was almost completely set. "I wish there was some sunlight to boost my healing, but I'll be fine in an hour, tops. You guys can just carry me to the top and I can start smashing."

Warhawk grumbled for a moment, but had to admit that there wasn't as much danger, now that most of the Six Demons were beaten.

"Fine, just hurry up!" He shouted. "And bring back anyone from the Team if you find them!"

Sergeant Marvel gave a mock salute, then flew off. She wasn't sure why, but whatever was, for lack of a better word, calling her was important.

And if it wasn't, or it was a trap… well, she'd already beaten two of the Demons today, she could handle another.

…

Ken staggered back from another hit. His vision was starting to blur, and he barely had any strength left; if he could just get away for a few minutes, let his healing factor fight against the poison in his system…

But Cobra wasn't going to give him a few minutes. His attacks were relentless and brutal, even after his snake had recovered and rejoined him. Cobra sent waves of poison at Ken, either with his claws or from his mouth. After a few more minutes, Ken hadn't even been able to muster the energy to go intangible.

Cobra grinned as Ken fell to his knees. "Finally. I'll give you credit, kid, no one else has ever lasted this long against me. You've got enough poison in your system to kill a hundred people, and you're still alive. I'm impressed, and that's hard to do."

"Glad… I could brighten up your day…" Ken wheezed, even as he fought against the weakness spreading throughout his body.

Cobra grabbed him by the throat with one hand, while the other was cocked back for a final blow. "Do you know what I hear now? I hear death coming for you. Don't worry about your friends, though; they'll be joining you soon enough."

Ken's hazy thoughts drifted to the rest of the Team; his friends, family, girlfriend, many of whom were already hurt, maybe even dying, and he couldn't do anything about it. The simmering frustration he'd had since this mission began finally boiled over, and with the last of his strength, he screamed.

Cobra smirked and brought his claws down, but before they hit Ken, the scream changed. It was no longer just a shout; the air itself began to warp, and the scream became louder and louder. The stones behind him shook, and glass windows shattered. But for Cobra, with hearing that eclipsed even a Kryptonian's, a super-loud scream was the worst kind of torture. His own scream joined Ken's as he fell back, hands clasped tightly over his ears, but to no avail.

The overwhelming noise shorted out his brain and knocked him out, but he wasn't the only one. Ken had used up the last of his strength, and for a few seconds, he was passed out on the ground, his body totally focused on fighting the poison within him. When he woke up, he still felt weak, but he didn't feel like he was about to die.

"How the heck did I do that?" Ken asked as he looked at the defeated Cobra. As he thought back to the last moments before passing out, he was sure that he'd used a new power, but how did he…

_Just how close was I to dying? _He wondered. He remembered how Azmuth had said that he could potentially gain new powers through extreme physical stress. Being poisoned nearly to death must have counted.

"And I got Blitzwolfer's sonic howl out of the deal," Ken mused, then smiled. "Cool."

"Ken! Are you all right?" Ken turned to see Starfire land nearby. "Superboy heard you shouting and asked me to assist you."

Ken smiled weakly. "Well, he made the right call. I'm completely drained right now, could you…?"

"Of course!" Starfire began shooting him with starbolts; as Ken absorbed the energy, he began fighting back against the poison, and his wounds began to heal. It would still take time for him to fully recover, but in a few minutes, he was out of immediate danger.

"How's everything going?" Ken asked, while he tore a piece of metal out of a wall and used it to bind Cobra's hands behind him.

"We defeated the one called Brain," Starfire said. "Superboy is injured, but is working on destroying Nirvana's controls. By process of elimination, Cyborg must be fighting Midnight; Sergeant Marvel was heading in his direction."

Ken nodded. "Between those two, I'm sure they'll be fine. Let's join up with Superboy and see about stopping this thing."

Starfire smiled. "I am sure that he and Warhawk will appreciate the help."

"Are you kidding?" Ken grinned back. "They're probably gonna be annoyed that we're spoiling their fun."

…

"Give it up," Midnight said, sounding incredibly bored. "You keep trying to hit me, but you can't."

Cyborg shrugged, then aimed his sonic cannon. "Doesn't mean I'll stop trying."

He fired, but just before beam hit Midnight, it split down the middle and warped around him, just like the last ten times Cyborg had tried. This had been going on for a while, and though Cyborg had yet to even touch Midnight, the New God seemed content to let Cyborg wear himself out.

Artemis felt useless; in battles against gods, she was a mere mortal with a bow. Still, she had an arrow aimed at Midnight, just in case she saw an opening. Behind her, Brainiac was motionless; it was hard to tell if he was even watching the fight.

"Don't you even remember the last time we fought?" Midnight asked. "I tore you apart without even lifting a finger."

Cyborg grinned. "Yeah, but now I'm back, and better than ever! Plus, I've got one thing you don't."

Midnight had a condescending smile on his face. "And that is?"

Cyborg pointed to his right. "Backup."

Everyone turned to see Sergeant Marvel speeding towards the fight, one hand crackling with magic lightning.

"And this makes three!" She yelled, and hurled the lightning.

Just like Cyborg's attack, the lightning wrapped around Midnight, but didn't hit him; this time, though, Midnight pointed at Sergeant Marvel, and the lightning shot back to her. She cried out in pain as her own attack hit her, but it didn't dissipate; instead, it curled around her like a cage.

"You've outlived your usefulness," Midnight said dismissively, "the most you can do is entertain me as I kill you with your own power."

Just as Midnight curled his fingers, making the lightning tighten, a metal fist filled his vision. An unfamiliar sensation, pain, was all he felt as Cyborg punched him through a building. Artemis nearly dropped her bow in surprise; even Brainiac's optics widened a fraction, and then he walked over to Sergeant Marvel, who was now free, but had fallen to the ground.

"Are you damaged?" He asked her.

Sergeant Marvel hissed in pain as she stood up. "Getting hit by my own power sucks. What'd I miss?"

"Cyborg just punched Midnight in the face," Artemis said. "I don't know how, though."

"What's so mysterious about it?" Sergeant Marvel asked. "Fist plus face equals pain, right?"

"Except that he couldn't hit him until just now." Artemis turned to Cyborg, who looked very satisfied. "How did you do that?"

"I gotta thank the Forever People for the upgrade," Cyborg said, tapping his cybernetic eye. "I can see forms of energy I didn't even know existed! I noticed that he surrounds himself with this field that alters whatever hits it, but he can move that field into other spaces, like around a person. He can only stretch it so far, and he can only affect one place at a time."

"Wait a minute," Sergeant Marvel realized, "did you use me as bait!?"

Brainiac frowned; although such a tactic made sense, an irrational part of him did not approve of what Cyborg did.

Cyborg gave her a weak smile. "I didn't know you'd get hurt so much by your own power. My bad."

"You're darn right, 'your bad'!" Sergeant Marvel shouted. "I am going to tell Safari what you did, see how cavalier you are after _she _gets done with you!"

"Excuse me," Brainiac said, getting their attention. "The one designated 'Midnight' is still functional."

Stumbling out through the hole his impact had made, Midnight glared daggers at Cyborg. "You… you hit me! No one has ever hit me before! I'm untouchable!"

Cyborg laughed. "Not really, dude."

"Let's see how funny this is after I tear you apart again!" Midnight held out his hand, and Cyborg grimaced as his plates began to vibrate.

"Artemis, shoot now!" he shouted.

Her arrow was already nocked, so Artemis fired; the explosive arrow wasn't completely on target, but the explosion still caught Midnight in the side, throwing him into yet another building.

Cyborg shifted, like he was itchy, as blue veins creeped over him, pulling loose armor and parts back together before withdrawing. The New God technology repaired him far faster than his previous systems, but it was an uncomfortable process at the best of times, downright painful at the worst.

"That tactic left him exposed," Brainiac said. "Why would he use it again?"

Sergeant Marvel shrugged. "Angry people do stupid things."

"How dare you…" Midnight forced himself back to his feet. "All of you are _dead_!"

Before anyone could react, a dark aura surrounded him, completely encasing him in a purple haze. When it faded, the skinny man from before was gone, replaced with an enormous monster; its skin was red like dried blood, the muscles of its hands alone were bigger than Artemis, and it had a gaping maw filled with teeth the size of a man's hand.

Unnerved, Artemis took a step back, and Sergeant Marvel moved to keep herself between her friend and the monster, despite her weakened state. Cyborg and Brainiac, however, only looked at each other.

"I'll go left, you go right?" Cyborg offered.

Brainiac nodded. "That is acceptable."

Almost as one, the two of them charged; Cyborg's arms merged into one giant cannon and fired, while Brainiac fired three beams from the circles on his chest. The two attacks slammed into the monster in an explosion of dust and clashing energies. When it faded, all that was left was a thoroughly beaten Midnight.

Artemis stared. "Um… what?"

Cyborg sighed. "That was just an illusion. This guy can talk a good game, but once I figured out his weakness, he was a pushover."

"How'd you see through the illusion?" Sergeant Marvel asked.

"The illusion you saw was telepathically-based," Brainiac explained. "It had no effect on cybernetic or artificial lifeforms."

Artemis blinked. "So… is that it? We won?"

Sergeant Marvel nodded. "I think so. Ken might be fighting that guy with the snake still, but I think we won."

Cyborg pumped a fist. "Booyah! Let's go home!"

Brainiac suddenly turned in the direction of the tower. "Alert: rapid spike in energy detected."

Sergeant Marvel groaned. "Oh, what now?"

**So… yeah. That's it for this chapter. I know, kinda short, but it is so hard to squeeze out this story right now. Again, I'm sorry for taking so long to deliver so little, but next chapter will not only be long, it'll wrap up this arc, I swear!**

**Next Chapter: The Team faces its greatest enemy yet! Can they save New Genesis before the God-Killer fires?**

**Certainty of death, small chance of muffins… what are we waiting for?**


	9. Gods, Demons, and Heroes, Part 6

**YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS BELONG TO ME. MESS WITH THEM AT YOUR PERIL.**

**I am so sorry, guys. I know that this story has been gone for a while, and I really don't have an excuse for not updating before now. I've been watching a lot of superhero stuff on Netflix lately, and that got my attention back on this. I can't promise that the inspiration will last long, but I'll do my best to at least wrap up this arc before meandering off to do something else.**

Unlimited Justice, Part 2

Chapter 9

Gods, Demons, and Heroes, Part 6

**New Genesis, January 25, 18:15 EST (Earth Time)**

"That can't be good," Warhawk said. He didn't look worried, just resigned, as Brain's tattoos faded and he began glowing.

"The bad guy we just beat is glowing," Superboy said wearily. "That's _never _good."

Starfire turned towards Ken. "What should we do?"

"I'm not taking any chances," Ken replied, then ran at Brain with raised fists. "Just keep hitting him until he stops!"

Too tired to deal with another serious fight, the other three followed him to finish the job. Just before the first hit connected, there was an explosion of energy that sent them flying back. Brain was obscured by a cloud of dust, but the two half-Kryptonians were able to see through it and keep an eye on him.

"Ow," Superboy winced when he landed on his injured leg. "I'm so done with getting hurt all the time!"

"I think we're going to have to put up with it for a little longer," Ken said, pointing ahead.

"Finally!" Brain's voice rang out, but it was laced with pure, primal malice. "After all this time, I am free!"

When Brain stepped out of the smoke, only the fact that he was wearing the same clothes indicated that he was the same person. His hair had turned into a wavy mess, his tattoos had vanished, and his skin was as pale as bleached bones. He pointed a hand at the heroes, and a twisting mass of green energy gathered at his fingertips. With a flick of his wrist, the energy crashed into Superboy; he was blasted fifty feet back, into a decrepit building that collapsed on top of him. With a single blow, Brain—if that's who he was anymore—had taken down one of the Team's strongest members.

"Yeah, this isn't good," Warhawk muttered.

And then everything went white.

…

"Alert: energy spike detected." Brainiac said. "Addendum: four previous energy signals have diminished."

"Four previous—oh, no." Sergeant Marvel was pale. "I shouldn't have left the others! We need to go back!"

"What are we going to do?" Artemis asked bitterly. "Whatever just happened took out two of our biggest guns, and Cyborg and I aren't exactly in good shape."

Sergeant Marvel glanced at Cyborg, her expressing begging him to deny the statement.

Cyborg shook his head. "I'm still repairing my systems. I should be fine in about twenty minutes, but—"

"We do not have twenty minutes," Brainiac interrupted. "In _fifteen_ minutes, this entire planet will be erased from existence."

The three heroes stared at him. "Excuse me?" Artemis' voice was a squeak.

"Correction: that is not entirely accurate." To their surprise, Brainiac looked sheepish. "The purpose of Nirvana is to rewrite the core energies of New Genesis, transforming it and its people into a 'New Apokolips'. In this case, it would be an Apokolips where the New Gods are free to attack the rest of the universe."

"Okay, that's… terrifying," Sergeant Marvel said, "but why the heck would something like that _be here_!?"

"As a measure of balance," Brainiac said. "Both New Genesis and Apokolips created weapons to turn each other into their opposite. However, as a way to ensure that neither side would ever use the weapons, they were exchanged and hidden. What the people of New Genesis did not realize is that Darkseid destroyed his as soon as he obtained it, to prevent it from ever being used against him."

Artemis began rubbing her temples. "And the evil version wasn't destroyed… why?" Then she frowned. "Also, how do you know all of this?"

"I cannot say why Nirvana was not destroyed. Perhaps it was because Highfather kept true to his word." Brainiac tapped his chin in a remarkably Human way. "I was aware of this information when I accessed Nirvana's archives."

"Did it also tell you how to stop it from being used?" Cyborg asked.

"Negative. That information is likely within the New Genesis database, but I have been unable to access it."

{Thankfully, _someone _was.}

Save for Brainiac, everyone jumped at the telepathic message. "M'gann!?" Artemis looked around. "Where are you? Is everyone okay?"

{Don't worry, we're all alive,} Miss Martian said cheerfully, albeit tiredly. {Raven saved us, though we're not exactly ready for a fight right now.}

{Hey, babe,} Kid Flash said, sounding exhausted. {Don't worry, you're not getting rid of me that easy.}

{Hey, Vic!} Unlike everyone else, Safari sounded mad. {You're still in trouble!}

{Where are you?} Sergeant Marvel asked, switching to the telepathic link and getting everyone back on track.

{Not too far from Nirvana now,} Seeker said. {We're inside Ship, but he's in stealth-mode; like Miss Martian said, we're not in any shape to fight. Robin and Raven are both knocked out, but Raven's just sleeping.}

"You are in a telepathic conversation," Brainiac observed. "May I be included? I believe that I can assist."

"I thought you were a robot," Artemis said.

"I am now a fusion of organic and synthetic material. My mind is theoretically capable of telepathic communication."

"Uh, okay." Sergeant Marvel shrugged. {Hey, M'gann, can you add Brainiac to our mental chatroom?}

{Wait, _Brainiac_!?} Seeker gave the telepathic equivalent of shaking her head. {Never mind, I don't care right now. Miss Martian, do it.}

Miss Martian hesitated for a moment. {I guess…}

After Brainiac was included, he quickly told the others what he knew of Nirvana.

{Yeah, that adds up with what I found,} Seeker said. {Cyborg, Miss M is going to send a schematic to you. Can you project it to the others?}

{Sure, go ahead,} Cyborg said. A moment later, he translated the image Miss Martian sent to him and projected a holographic blueprint of Nirvana.

{Highlight the sections at the base of each leg,} Seeker ordered, and Cyborg did so. {See those circular areas? Each one houses a generator; if we destroy each generator, Nirvana will lose power, and the New Gods can destroy it later. But we have to destroy all six of them at the same time, within a five-second grace period, or else the self-repair protocols will rebuild all of them.}

{And we must destroy them before Nirvana reaches the city,} Brainiac added. {There is no way to reverse the process if the weapon fires.}

To the surprise of those on Nirvana's surface, the walking city suddenly stopped.

"Uh, what's going on?" Artemis asked. "By the way, I'm getting really tired of not knowing things."

"I… have made an error." Brainiac said. "I calculated that Nirvana required direct line of sight to the New God city. I was not aware that the energy could arc."

"Oh, god," Cyborg whispered. "It's gonna fire early!"

At the front of Nirvana, a circular opening began to glow with dark energies.

{Don't worry, boys,} Seeker's voice was calm, even playful. {Us Earth-people might not be in any shape to fight, but we've still got one trick up our sleeve. Infinity-Man, now!}

There was a flash of golden light, and then Infinity-Man appeared before Nirvana; he drew back a fist, and smashed it against the weapon. The sheer energy from Infinity-Man's attack caused a massive explosion, but even that only destroyed a small part of the weapon. However, even a weapon forged by gods needed to be intact to work correctly, and the energies faded as Nirvana began repairing itself.

Infinity-Man didn't come out of the encounter unscathed, either. So much energy was used to temporarily damage Nirvana that he reverted back into the Forever People, who began plummeting to the ground.

{Don't worry, we've got them,} Seeker promised, {just get to the generators and destroy them.}

Sergeant Marvel turned to Brainiac. "How much time do we have left?"

"Between repairing the damage and recharging the firing matrix, I estimate that we have approximately twenty-five minutes."

"Nirvana isn't the only thing recharging," Cyborg said. "I'd use a Boom-Tube to get us all to a generator, but I don't have much juice left. We'll have to get there the old fashioned way."

"And we have one other problem, guys," Artemis added. "We only have four people who can do anything, and _six _generators!"

{Wait, half of the Team should be down there,} Miss Martian said. {What happened?}

{We… lost contact with Ken, Starfire, Warhawk and Superboy,} Artemis reported. {We don't know if they're even—}

{Don't say it,} Miss Martian interrupted, {just… don't.}

{For now, they're either missing or incapacitated,} Seeker said emotionlessly. {I might be able to rig some of Robin's explosives and Safari could use them on one of the generators, but it would be close. Raven might have enough energy to take out another, and—}

Another voice cut in. {We can do it.}

Everyone smiled when Ken's words entered their minds. {Dude! You're alive!} Cyborg shouted.

…

On the other side of Nirvana, Ken groaned as he dragged himself to his feet. {Yeah, barely. I feel like I just went ten rounds with Galatea.}

{Same here,} Warhawk muttered as he wrapped an arm around his cracked ribs.

{But we are still alive,} Starfire said as she sat up. {We can still go after the generators.}

{What about Superboy?} Miss Martian asked.

Ken staggered over to his cousin. {He's alive, but he's not going anywhere. Is Ship strong enough to do a flyby and pick him up? I don't want to leave him behind, but…}

{The mission comes first, we know.} Seeker's voice was steady, but anyone could hear the relief behind her words. {We'll get him, you just worry about your part.}

{Thanks.} Ken looked around. "So, where'd Brain go?"

{Here I am, fools.}

{What the heck?} Kid Flash yelped over the link. {Who's that?}

{Someone hacked our link!} Miss Martian sounded scared. {Whoever this guy is, his mental powers are a thousand times stronger than mine.}

{It's Brain,} Ken said grimly. {Or, his crazier version, anyway.}

{You have defeated the Demons,} Brain said, {and that is impressive. However, you did not defeat _me_. Brain was but a puppet; I am the _true _leader of the Six Demons! I am Zero!}

Ken glanced at Starfire and Warhawk and rolled his eyes. "Dumb name."

{I know what you are planning, and it might actually work,} Zero continued. {However, there is one problem. I am standing in front of one of the generators; if you want to stop Nirvana, you'll have to get through me, first!}

For a moment, there was silence. {I think he's gone,} Miss Martian said. {I can't feel his presence.}

{We're still hosed,} Artemis said. {This Zero guy managed to take out Ken _and _Superboy!}

"And, you know, _us_," Warhawk grumbled, sharing a look with Starfire.

{Doesn't matter,} Ken said, tapping the 10 on his jacket and going into stealth-mode. {We have a job to do, so let's do it. Brainiac, stick with Artemis; no offense to her, but she's got the least amount of firepower. Everyone else, pick a generator and head to it!}

{I'll guide you to the generators and keep a timer,} Miss Martian said. {That way, you'll be able to destroy the generators all at once.}

A moment later, nearly everyone twitched as their brains synced up.

{Thanks, Miss M.} Ken patted the unconscious Superboy on the shoulder before standing up and pointing off to the side. "I'll take that one."

Starfire and Warhawk nodded, then split up to go after their own generators.

"Good luck, guys," Ken said, then walked as quickly as his battered body would allow. {Miss Martian, cut the link. Just keep the map and timer going, but nothing else. I don't want Zero listening in again.}

{Got it. Good luck, everyone.}

…

"He's being an idiot."

Safari blinked. "Who?"

"Ken." Seeker shook her head, and without her mask, her frown was obvious. "I know him too well. His generator will be the one that Zero is guarding."

"Why can't he just have Sergeant Marvel fight him? Heck, why doesn't Brainiac?"

"Because he cares too much." With a sigh, Seeker closed her eyes. "He doesn't want to risk any of the others' lives. I don't know if he's including Brainiac in that, or he just doesn't trust him, but whatever."

"But he's in bad shape," Safari protested.

"Well, there is one other thing, something I don't think even Ken's thought about." Seeker smiled. "He's stronger than he knows. Kryptonians have to hold back so much, or they risk killing someone. Ken is going into a fight against someone who's really strong, and he doesn't have to risk collateral damage or hurting one of us. He has a chance to cut loose.

"He'll win."

…

"You must go without me," Brainiac said.

Cyborg had already left, but Artemis and Sergeant Marvel stopped.

"Uh, didn't you hear Ken? He told you to stick with us." Artemis narrowed her eyes. "And none of us are going to trust you, just like that. You've got too much bad history."

Sergeant Marvel gently, but firmly, put a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Artemis, that isn't fair, considering your own history."

Artemis scowled at her. "Hey! My dad and sister being assassins and my mom being an ex-con are small potatoes compared to this guy! Brainiac almost destroyed the entire _universe_!"

"And he," Sergeant Marvel waved her hand in Brainiac's direction, "isn't that Brainiac. He's a completely different person. Since breaking free of Brain's control, he's done nothing but help us."

Artemis grumbled wordlessly, then reluctantly nodded. "Fine, but I still don't know if I've got enough explosive arrows to take out the generator."

"Take this." Brainiac held out his hand; a slot opened up, and a small disk emerged. "This charge carries a five-megaton yield in a shaped blast. You need only attach it to one of your arrows."

Artemis gingerly took the bomb and held it between two fingers. She looked at Sergeant Marvel uncertainly, but when the other girl nodded, she tucked the explosive into a pouch on her belt.

"I guess I'm off," she said. "Good luck, guys."

"Now," Sergeant Marvel said when Artemis was gone, "why do you need to go off by yourself?"

"The one called Ken 10 will require my assistance. I detect Zero's energy at the generator Ken 10 is heading to. He cannot defeat Zero by himself in his current condition." At Sergeant Marvel's look, Brainiac explained. "Zero is a separate personality from Brain. In order to keep him contained, a neural field was established between all of the Six Demons; so long as at least one of them is conscious, Zero remains contained."

"That's… not very encouraging," Sergeant Marvel said, then, more for her own benefit, changed the subject. "I know I vouched for you in front of Artemis, but I have to know something." She then crossed her arms. "Why are you helping us? You're nothing like the Brainiac I've read about."

Brainiac glanced away, and for an instant, Sergeant Marvel didn't see a robot, but an uncertain teenage boy.

"I have discovered that I possess emotions," Brainiac said quietly. "When I access the data about my predecessor, I feel something that my processor designates as 'shame'. The feeling is reduced at the prospect of assisting you. I do not understand why my emotions are causing such reactions."

Sergeant Marvel stared at him for several seconds, then smiled and gently put a hand on Brainiac's shoulder.

"It's not just emotions that you're feeling," she said. "You've got what we call a conscience. It's the thing that tells you what's right and what's wrong." Her eyes went wide. "It must have been my powers that gave you that. You were created using a piece of the original Brainiac to give you your smarts, New God energies to make you obey Brain, and my powers for, well, your power. But you got all the positive energies that come with my powers, the same kind of energy that empowers my own morals."

"Your theory… has some merit," Brainiac admitted. "When this situation is resolved, I would like to discuss this further with you."

Sergeant Marvel giggled. "Did you just ask me out on a study date?" When Brainiac opened his mouth, but didn't say anything, she laughed. "Never mind. See you once the day is saved, Brainy!"

With that, she flew off in the direction of her generator, leaving Brainiac alone. Before he also began to fly, he cocked his head.

"Brainy?"

…

"He's not looking so good," Kid Flash observed as Miss Martian levitated Superboy into Ship.

"He's already healing," Miss Martian said, trying to sound confident, but it was hard. Superboy was a mess; there were more cuts and bruises than undamaged skin, his clothes were shredded, and had suffered so much damaged that even the Kryptonian self-repairing nanotech had stopped working.

"He still looks terrible," Kid Flash said as he helped move Superboy into Ship and next to Sphere and Wolf; the latter whined and licked his master's face. "Don't worry, boy, I bet he'll be playing fetch with you by the weekend."

Wolf whimpered, then gently rested his head on Superboy's chest.

"The sooner we finish up here, the sooner we can get everyone some professional medical care," Seeker said, then winced as her semi-healed bones ached. "That includes me."

"Ship, ship," Ship said, sounding just as tired as everyone else.

"I agree," Miss Martian said, "we all need a vacation after this."

"Mission first, vacation second," Seeker reminded them. In her head, however, she made a note to see about going to Hawaii or some other tropical location when this was all over.

…

"I'd say I'm surprised to see you, but I'm really not." Ken did his best to hide the pain he was in as he entered the generator room. The room itself was mostly bare, but the generator at the center was ornate, made of decorated black metal; at its core was an opaque sphere, nearly twenty feet in diameter.

Standing in front of the generator, Zero smiled. "I was hoping for more of a challenge. You're practically dead on your feet!"

Ken shrugged. "Sorry, I'm all you're getting tonight." He raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get the sweater?"

Zero was now wearing an olive-green sweater-like garment that Ken knew he hadn't been wearing before.

"You would be surprised what can be done when you can manipulate energy," Zero said. "I sense you can do something similar, but you won't live long enough to master such talents."

Ken grinned. "We'll see about that, won't we?"

In a blur of super-speed, Ken raced up to Zero and punched him in the face. Though the blow had enough strength to shatter boulders, Zero only took a single step back; grinning madly, he backhanded Ken with enough force to send him crashing to the floor and cracking the stone. Ken jumped back up and drove his knee into Zero's gut; he then blasted him in the face with waves of fire.

"How'd you like that?" Ken asked as he hopped back, only to frown when it seemed that Zero only had a few scratches. "Oh, come _on_!"

"I am more powerful than all of the Six Demons combined!" Zero laughed. "Even Darkseid forbade me from ever emerging, for fear that I would destroy Apokolips!"

"Then why the heck do you need Nirvana?" Ken asked. "You could just destroy everything yourself."

"Because it wouldn't be as _fun_!"

_Right, I'm stuck fighting the super-god who's also crazy, _Ken thought. _Did this sort of thing happen to Dad a lot?_

Zero pointed his hand at Ken and blasted him back with a wave of green energy. Ken retaliated with a bolt of lightning from his mouth, but in his weakened state, Zero was barely fazed. In fact, he looked almost bored as he pummeled Ken to the floor again and again; in less than a minute, Ken was barely conscious.

"Pathetic, just as I thought." Zero raised his fist once more, but just before he struck, a beam of energy slammed into him, sending him flying across the room.

Ken weakly raised his head to see Brainiac step forward. "Perhaps I will be more of a challenge?"

Zero got to his feet and wiped away a trickle of blood from his mouth. "You! I thought Brain had you under his control!"

"Only for a short time. However, now I desire what organics call 'payback'." Brainiac knelt by Ken. "You have the ability to absorb energy, correct?"

Ken nodded. "Most kinds, but not this guy's."

"Understood." Brainiac aimed one palm at him and shot a sustained beam; in a few seconds, most of Ken's lesser injuries were gone, and he was able to stand up.

"That's some good stuff," Ken said, then jerked his thumb at Zero. "What do you say? Tag-team?" Brainiac nodded. "Then let's go."

Zero grinned. "Finally, a good fight!"

Ken threw a barrage of Mana-blasts that, though they didn't do much damage, did distract Zero long enough for Brainiac to launch the three disks on his chest. They attached themselves to Zero, then bombarded him with waves of energy; that staggered him, and gave Ken the opening he needed to smash him into the floor. Unfortunately, Zero got right back up and charged Brainiac, knocking him away before attacking Ken.

Ken saw the next blow coming and raised his arms to defend himself. But that's what Zero was hoping for, because it left Ken wide open. Zero aimed two of his fingers and fired a thin beam of green energy that was wrapped in golden-red flames. The beam pierced Ken through the front of his left shoulder and out the back.

For a moment, Ken was frozen. Then his hand brushed the wound and came away bloody, and he began to shake. Despite getting hurt plenty of times, the only times he'd ever bled was back in Genesis, when the Kryptonite-tipped syringes had taken some of his blood, and when Harm had cut him with his magic sword. Even then, those tiny cuts from the former had healed almost instantly, and the latter, while painful, had healed in a day; this, however, was a serious injury, one Ken hadn't known was even possible for him to receive.

His legs trembled, then collapsed beneath him as he struggled to stop the bleeding. For the first time in a very long time, Ken found himself afraid. Normally, he would always be afraid for those who weren't as durable as him, but this time, he was afraid for himself.

"Goodbye, wretch," Zero sneered and prepared another piercing beam, this one much bigger than the first.

"NO!" Something shoved Ken out of the way, taking the full brunt of Zero's attack.

When Ken's vision cleared, he saw that it was Brainiac. Amazingly, despite having an arm and half of his chest obliterated, he still stood for a moment. Then he collapsed, his damaged parts sparking weakly.

Zero raised an eyebrow. "So the machine dies before the mortal. Very well."

Brainiac weakly turned his head towards Ken. "You can still defeat him."

Ken struggled to get up. "How?"

"You can absorb energy to add to your own power." Brainiac raised his remaining arm. "Do you have a limit to how much you can absorb?"

Ken shrugged, then winced when the motion pulled at his injury. "If I do, I've never reached it."

"Then I may be able to help." Brainiac's palm began to glow. "I have an energy reserve equal to a one hundred megaton nuclear bomb. I will divert ninety-eight percent of that energy to you."

"Wait, wha—whoa!" Ken jumped like he'd been shocked when Brainiac began pouring his energy into him. In seconds, not only had the hole in his shoulder healed, so had all of his other injuries; on top of that, he had never felt so powerful, and there was still more to have!

Zero was insane, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that Ken was quickly becoming a major threat, and moved to attack before it was too late. However, his punch was intercepted by Ken's hand, which barely moved from the impact.

"Bad move," Ken said in a low voice, his eyes closed. "You know, I'm usually pretty hard to tick off, but when I snap… well, let's just say you should be glad you're tough."

When Brainiac's energy faded, Ken opened his eyes; they were glowing a blinding green. When Ken opened his mouth, his voice echoed with barely contained power.

"_Because this is going to hurt. A lot."_

There was a low hum, and then it appeared that Ken's skin was peeling off. Underneath, rather than muscle and bone, there was glowing green energy. Even his clothes had melded with his body. His hair was replaced by a lighter green mass that waved like fire.

Ken had never tried to become a full Anodite before; Verdona had warned him that he wasn't ready, and the first time he tried would need supervision from her, or he might not be able to turn back to normal. At that moment, however, he had so much energy that he instinctively knew that the only way to channel it was to turn into something that could handle it.

Before Zero could react, Ken punched him again; this time, though, Zero was sent flying back hard enough to collapse the wall. The New God got back up, grimacing in pain and holding his side.

"What… what are you?" he asked.

Ken crossed his arms. _"Your worst nightmare."_

…

"Ow. Ow. Ow." Every time Warhawk took a step, he felt spikes of pain all over. His fight—more of a one-sided beating—with Zero had left him with not only cracked ribs, but also a broken wing. It was all he could do not to scream when the sensitive bones were jostled.

_Note to self: the next time a god asks for help, tell them 'no'. And maybe ask them to jump in a lake._

"And I've got less than ten minutes left," he muttered. "I just hope my gauntlets still work."

Looking down at his armored hands, he was relieved to see that they still crackled with energy when he activated them.

"So far, so good."

…

"That is… much bigger than I thought it would be," Starfire said to herself as she reached the generator.

"I do not think I can destroy the generator itself," she continued quietly. "Perhaps if I destroy the cables above and below fast enough, that might have the same effect." She winced when, as she raised her arms, her fractured bones ground against each other.

…

"I never thought I'd say this, but thank you, Brainiac." Artemis grinned as she placed the explosive Brainiac had given her onto an arrow. "Hmm… maybe I should take a few more steps back."

…

"Power at eighty percent and rising… weapons are primed and ready… now I just have to wait." Cyborg frowned. "Man, I hate waiting! This would be so much easier if I could still generate Boom-Tubes."

Even though he knew the answer, he checked the status of that particular function anyway. _Repair status: 51%. Boom-Tubes offline._

"Dang it!"

…

"This doesn't look too bad," Sergeant Marvel commented as she looked over the generator. "If I fly at it fast enough, I should break it in one shot. You know, I think I'll punch it again, just to be on the safe side."

As the time counted down, she cracked her knuckles in anticipation.

…

Ken would admit that the fight wasn't going as well as he thought it would. After growing up witnessing Verdona's powers, he had thought he could beat Zero in just a few short blows. That wasn't the case, as Zero not only got back up each time, he would hit Ken just as hard. Ken was starting to realize why even people on Apokolips were scared of this guy.

Though battered, Zero was still grinning madly. "I can't remember the last time I had so much fun!"

"_That makes one of us." _Ken blasted him into a wall with a solid beam of Mana. _"I just want you to stay down."_

"Not going to happen!" Zero shot back with his piercing energy, which Ken tried to avoid; while it didn't impale his throat, it did nick the side of his neck. Anodite or not, it still hurt.

_I need to put this guy down, _Ken thought. _There's only sixty seconds left! That's it, no more holding back!_

Eyes glowing even brighter, Ken wrapped Zero in bands of Mana; the restraints wouldn't last for long, but they didn't have to. With Zero struggling to free himself, Ken moved back to the other end of the room and concentrated. With what felt like agonizing slowness, Ken's Anodite form began to revert back to normal, until only his right forearm still glowed green.

"Losing power already?" Zero grinned as cracks began to appear in the Mana. "It seems that you've failed."

"I'm not losing power," Ken corrected. "I'm just concentrating all of it into one spot. Speaking of power, I just figured out how to use more than one of my Ultimatrix alien powers at once."

Lightning crackled around his forearm; weaving around in the opposite direction was a small tube of fire. The red, green, and yellow built up to a blinding intensity.

"Super-speed, super-strength, super-durability, Mana, fire, and lightning." Ken grinned. "You know what all that adds up to?" He launched himself forward. "One heck of a punch!"

…

"Time's up, let's do this!" Warhawk jumped into the air and brought his Nth-metal gauntlets down on the generator. The machine shook wildly, then shattered.

…

Fighting against the pain, Starfire launched a wave of starbolts. The generator exploded in a shower of smoke and debris.

…

Artemis was sent tumbling from the shockwave that not only destroyed the generator, but also the entire room. Rubbing her sore back, she looked over the destruction and grinned.

"I really hope Brainiac gives me more of those!"

…

"Booyah!" Cyborg pumped his fist; between his cannons and the missiles in his shoulders, the generator was a smoking wreck.

…

"Okay, so the punching was overkill." Sergeant Marvel shrugged. "Totally worth it."

…

Ken's punch connected with devastating force. It sent Zero flying back, not only through the generator, but also clear out of Nirvana itself, leaving a massive hole that led outside.

That wasn't to say that Ken was unscathed; before being hit, Zero had managed to fire off one last attack, which had pierced the side of Ken's torso, leaving him with a hole in his gut. It was already healing, but at a much slower rate than what he was used to.

"Ow, that hurts," Ken groaned as he sank to his knees; he put his left hand over the wound, as his right wouldn't move. "So that's what happens when I overload. Gross."

Ken's right arm was blackened and burned up to the elbow, and he could neither feel nor move it. He only hoped that his arm would recover on its own; if not, he would have to ask Verdona, Amazo, Azmuth, or his father to fix it. If that happened, he would have to endure the lectures, and promise to never do it again.

"Hey, Brainiac," Ken called out, "you still here?"

"I am." Brainiac lifted his head off the ground. "I was not aware that you could combine your non-Kryptonian powers."

"Neither did I," Ken admitted as he staggered over to the robot. "I just never tried before."

"That seems unwise."

"If we were wise, we wouldn't go out fighting crime in silly costumes." Ken laughed, then groaned in pain. "Ow. Note to self, laughing after getting impaled is stupid."

"Indeed." The room shook violently, and Brainiac's eyes glowed. "Alert: energy backlash has started a chain-reaction. Nirvana is going to explode."

Ken sighed. {Miss Martian, tell me you're listening.}

{I am, Ken. What's going on?}

{Looks like this whole place is gonna blow. Get the link back up to full, and have Sergeant Marvel and Cyborg get the others out ASAP. I'll get Brainiac and go.}

{Got it. Good luck.}

"How will we escape?" Brainiac asked. "Neither of us is capable of moving quickly."

"Yeah, you're right." Ken glanced off to the side. "Hey, could you survive a fall to the ground from this height?"

Brainiac considered it. "Yes, but why… oh, do not even think about it!"

"Too late! I thought about it, and now I'm going to do it!" Ken grabbed Brainiac by his remaining shoulder and hurled him down the new tunnel that would lead out of Nirvana. "Happy landings!"

Ken grinned and made to follow after Brainiac, but he only took a few steps before his legs gave out.

_Oh, come on! _He thought, _I can't be done yet! All right, think fast. I can't move my legs, and the others are all busy getting out of here. Then again, maybe I don't have to _walk_… today is just full of new things for me, isn't it?_

Verdona had taught him the theory of using Mana to teleport, but Ken had only been able to practice a few times. He knew _how _to do it, but he had never actually tried before. Still, he gathered what power he had left and pictured the safe, not-exploding ground beneath him as his destination.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered, and disappeared in a green flash.

…

Two minutes later, the Team watched as Nirvana exploded; behind them, the Forever People were still unconscious, along with Ship. The little alien had pushed himself to the limit getting most of them to a safe distance, while Cyborg and Sergeant Marvel, along with those they carried, were buffeted by the blast.

"So… we did it," Miss Martian said quietly as they watched the wreckage burn.

"Yeah." Kid Flash leaned into Artemis' shoulder. "We just saved a planet of gods. Go us."

"But we're still missing Ken," Seeker said.

"And Brainiac!" Sergeant Marvel added pointedly.

Seeker accepted that with a nod. "Miss Martian, Superboy, can you find them?"

Miss Martian shrugged helplessly. "They must be out of telepathic range."

"And there's too much background noise for me to get a fix on them," Superboy added.

No one suggested that the reason the two couldn't be found was because they were dead, but they all thought it.

"Hey, is that who I think it is?" Everyone followed Robin's pointing finger to see Brainiac limp into view. He was battered and still in the middle of rebuilding his chest, but he was walking.

"Well, that's one down, one to go." Sergeant Marvel flew over to Brainiac and looked him over. "You look terrible."

"Thank you," was Brainiac's dry response.

"Hey, where's Ken?" Artemis asked. "You went after him, right?"

Brainiac looked behind him. "He threw me to safety. I am not aware of his current status."

Despite his weakened state, Superboy was still easily able to lift Brainiac into the air. "I swear, if you left him behind, I'll—"

"I'm sure he made it out," Seeker interrupted, placing her hand on Superboy's shoulder. "At this point, we need to call the rest of New Genesis and update them. And we should probably call the Justice League at this point."

"But Ken—"

"Is _fine_," Seeker assured. "At least, he'd better be, or he's in huge trouble."

That got a small smile out of Superboy. "All right. Let's get started."

…

**Unknown Location, Unknown Time**

Ken fell to the ground with a heavy thud. He wasn't sure where he was, especially since he couldn't open his eyes. His entire body felt like it had been stepped on, and it was all he could do just to hear the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Well, this is a surprise," a familiar voice said. "I knew that his arrival was a possibility, but the odds were so low that I didn't consider it."

"Is he going to be a problem?" another voice, one Ken didn't recognize, asked.

"Not at all," the familiar voice said. "In fact, I think he'll help move things along nicely."

"All right, if you say so. I don't suppose you'll help me get him inside? … And he's gone. Typical."

Finally, Ken passed out.

**Before anyone throws a fit, yes, this chapter ended on a cliffhanger, despite the huge absence of this story. This was always my plan (not the absence part, anyway), so it's not like I'm being lazy. I just lost my drive for this story. The best I can promise is that I'll update more frequently. Like, more than once every six months. In fact, I'm going to shoot for at least once a month.**

**?: Yeah, you'd better.**

**What the—who are you?**

**?: Shut up and do a muffin quote!**

**In a minute, I have one more thing to explain!**

**?: Fine, just hurry up.**

**Anyway, some of you might be wondering why Ken didn't absolutely destroy Zero in that final fight. After all, he went full Anodite, right? He could have just teleported Zero into the sun or something. Well, it was the first time he's ever done that, and he hasn't gotten around to the finer points of that aspect of his heritage. At this point, he knows how to blast stuff, make shields, sense some things, and took a chance with teleporting. As such, he wasn't exactly in control of the fight the entire time.**

**?: Now?**

**Yes, now.**

**A new Muffin approaches!**


	10. Ultimate Heroes, Part 1

**BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. WITH PERMISSION, I HAVE DROPPED ONE OF MY CHARACTERS INTO ANOTHER AUTHOR'S PART OF THE SANDBOX.**

**So, this idea has been rattling around in my head, in one form or another, for quite a while. Now, however, I'm actually going to do it *cheers madly*. Have fun!**

Unlimited Justice, Part 2

Chapter 10

Ultimate Heroes, Part 1

**Unknown Location, Unknown Time**

When Ken regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was that he wasn't in pain. In fact, he felt like he had never been hurt in the first place! Just to be sure, however, he sat up and flexed his limbs; before blacking out, his right arm had been completely unresponsive and horribly injured, but now it was perfectly healthy and responsive.

_Not that I'm complaining, but what happened? _Ken looked around the dark room he was in. _Someone either helped me, or I've been healing on my own here for a really long time._

"Ah, you're awake!" Ken froze at the familiar voice. "Good to see you again, young Ken. Or is this the first time we've met?"

Ken slowly turned his head. "Professor Paradox. Should I be worried?"

"Not at all." Paradox then paused. "Well, perhaps. Why would you ask?"

"Because I don't think you've ever visited anyone just to chat."

"That's not true; I was at your parents' wedding."

Ken stood up, then crossed his arms and gave Paradox a pointed look.

Paradox shrugged. "Well, yes, I _could _use your assistance in a matter, but I didn't bring you here. You did."

Ken blinked. "Say what?"

"You absorbed more power from Brainiac than you thought. When you tried to teleport to the ground, you… overshot by a bit."

"By how much, exactly?" Ken found that he _really _didn't want to know, but felt that he had to.

"Well, you made it all the way to Earth, but you ended up in another universe. And timeline." Paradox raised an eyebrow at him. "Which is _my _territory, by the way."

Ken sat back down, hard, on the mattress he'd woken up on. "Wha… I mean, how…? I wasn't even _trying _to do all that!" Then he shook his head. "Wait, that doesn't matter. I need to get back to New Genesis; the rest of the Team is probably freaking out about me being missing. Not to mention my family."

Paradox merely smiled. "Not to worry, Ken; I promise to return you to the exact moment you left. Your friends and family won't even know you were gone." When Ken opened his mouth, Paradox held up a hand. "And your teammates will recover from their injuries, I assure you."

"Well, that's a relief." Ken took a deep breath, and some color returned to his face. Until Paradox had said it, he had been so worried about the Team; some of them had been pretty badly hurt. "Thanks for telling me."

Paradox held out a hand and helped Ken back to his feet. "Normally I wouldn't interfere so directly, but your injuries required me to… bend the rules, so to speak. I trust you don't mind?"

Ken patted himself down one last time, just to be safe. "Yeah, it's cool." Once he was calm, he looked Paradox in the eye. "So, where are we?"

"Japan, early twenty-first century." Paradox pulled a paper bag out from his coat and took a gumball from it. "Gumball?" When Ken shook his head, Paradox put the candy in his mouth. "Moving on, we're in a small city known as Karakura Town. And the timing of your arrival is quite fortuitous, as a war is about to start. And you will need to help end it."

"A war? What?" Ken gave Paradox a look. "Look, I want to stand out on my own, but shouldn't you go to Dad for problems like this?"

Paradox's expression was a mix of mild amusement and sheepishness. "Actually, Ben is already here."

"Seriously? Awesome!" Ken had always wanted to go on a universe-crossing adventure with his father, but Paradox hadn't needed Ben in years. "Where is he?"

The amusement was gone, replaced purely by sheepishness. "Well, he's on the other side of this war."

Ken stared at him for a long moment. "Come again?"

"Ben is currently working… well, I do not want to say 'for', but he is working _with _a very evil man named Sousuke Aizen. At this point, Ben suspects that not everything is well on Aizen's side of things, but is still there." Paradox gave Ken a very serious look. "Remember, young Ken, that though this _is_ Ben Tennyson, this is one from a different timeline. He is your father, but at the same time, he isn't."

Ken blinked a few times as he processed that. "Right, I'll try to keep that in mind. So, why do you need me, if you have Dad—I mean, Ben?"

Paradox frowned darkly, but the expression wasn't aimed at Ken. "I did not send Ben here; someone else did, someone with no regard for subtlety. Ben's abilities could unintentionally tip the balance of power in Aizen's direction, and he is one man who cannot be allowed to succeed. Your presence could help balance things out." Ken couldn't remember any of his father's stories about Paradox that had the man so serious. "However, I insist that you be careful. While you will be among allies, many of those near Ben at this time will take any opportunity to destroy him."

Ken took a deep breath. "Make sure my side wins the war, and that not-Dad stays alive. Got it."

Paradox smiled. "Excellent! Now that you have your task, I'll leave you to meet several of the people you'll be working with." He walked over to the door and knocked gently. "He's ready."

"Oh, good!" To Ken, the voice that came through the thin door sounded far too happy to not be hiding something. "I'll be right in."

Paradox patted Ken on the shoulder. "Good luck, Ken! I'm sure we'll see you again soon."

As Paradox disappeared in a flash of blue light, the door slid open. "Does that man always leave so dramatically?"

Ken looked over the man. He was tall, just around Ken's height, and thin; he wore a dark coat with a white diamond pattern along the bottom half, over dark green shirt and pants, and had traditional Japanese wooden sandals on his feet. On his head, concealing most of his pale-blonde hair, was a white bucket hat with green stripes that shadowed his eyes, and in his hands he carried a cane.

"From what I've been told, he usually does," Ken said, then gave a friendly wave. "Hi, I'm Ken Tennyson."

As much as Paradox's eccentricity threw him for a loop, Ken had been told over and over by his father that the time-traveler could be trusted. If Paradox trusted this man, then Ken was willing to bet that he could as well.

"Yes, Professor Paradox told me about you." The man bowed. "My name is Kisuke Urahara. Welcome to my humble shop."

Ken glanced around. "You have rooms for unconscious people in a shop?"

Urahara smiled. "It happens more often than you'd think. Why don't you come outside and meet the rest of my staff?"

Ken glanced over his shoulder; part of him was hoping that Paradox would come back. After all, he was in a completely different universe—though at least he was on Earth, just not _his _Earth—and among strangers. Then again, he had a mission, and in that respect, he was in familiar territory. And he had to admit that, even if the Ben Tennyson in this universe wasn't technically his father, Ken was excited to work with him on one of these adventures.

Outside, sitting around a low table, were three people. The first was a tall, muscular man with black hair, a mustache, and glasses that reflected all light and concealed his eyes. Ken idly wondered if Robin's mask did the same thing.

The second was a young boy with bright-red hair, big eyes, and a scowl that was aimed right at Ken. Sitting next to him was a tiny girl with long pigtails and the most adorably sad face Ken had ever seen.

"Everyone, this is Ken Tennyson," Urahara said, then pointed to the other adult in the room. "This is Tessai." Then he pointed at the boy. "That's Jinta." The little girl, the one yet to be introduced, waved shyly. "And that is Ururu."

Ken waved back. "Hello. Um, how long have I been here?"

"A few hours," Tessai said, and Ken was surprised at how deep his voice was. "You were badly injured and we feared the worst, but Professor Paradox did something to make you perfectly healthy again."

Ken shrugged. "I've been told not to try to understand how he does stuff. It saves you from headaches." He then realized that he was a guest. "So, thanks for letting me stay here."

"Well, you _are _helping us," Urahara pointed out. "Giving you a place to stay in the meantime seems like a small price to pay."

"Speaking of helping you," Ken said, "can you tell me what's going on? Paradox only said that there was a war, and that someone named Aizen was the bad guy."

Another thing Ken was curious about was whether Urahara and Tessai were speaking perfect English, or if he was speaking Japanese, or there was some translation thing going on. Granted, Ken _did _know Japanese—after Seeker had nearly been killed by Deathstroke, he had picked up the language while investigating the area in the aftermath—he wasn't perfectly fluent. He figured that either Paradox or Urahara had done something.

"Of course." Urahara waved his hand towards the table. "Would you like something to drink?"

Ken smiled wryly. "Actually, I don't need food or water." At the surprised looks he received, he shrugged. "I'll explain later, I promise."

Still, Ken sat down and tried to get his bearings while Tessai made tea for everyone else. Urahara's store seemed pretty ordinary, but with several oddities. Ken noticed that some of the products on the shelves had a faint energy signature; it was almost like magic, but not quite. To his surprise, he noticed that Urahara and Tessai had the same kind of energy. He also spotted, through a quick X-ray glance, that there was a trapdoor that led to a _huge _underground chamber. It was obvious that these people weren't normal.

Once Tessai passed around the tea, Urahara spoke. "First of all, Tessai and I are not Human. We're spirits, inhabiting artificial bodies so that we can interact with normal Humans. I'm sure that's a bit of a shock for you."

Ken shrugged. "You're ghosts in meat-suits. Got it." He almost laughed at the double-take from Jinta. "I've met ghosts before."

If Urahara was surprised, he didn't show it. "All right, then let me explain how things work."

Over the next few minutes, Urahara gave Ken a basic summary of the situation. When people died in this world and didn't pass on to the afterlife—which was called Soul Society—one of three things would happen. First, a special type of spirit called a Soul Reaper would find them and help them pass on peacefully. Second, the soul's regrets would fester, and they would turn into monsters called Hollows. Those Hollows would then hunt down and devour other souls, growing in power, until they were destroyed and purified by a Soul Reaper.

The Soul Reapers were organized into thirteen units, collectively known as the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Each squad was headed by a Captain and seconded by a Lieutenant; many squads had specialties, such as combat, healing, or other talents. The Thirteen Court Guard Squads had operated smoothly for thousands of years.

Recently, however, things had taken a dark turn. The Captain of the Fifth Squad, Aizen, had betrayed Soul Society and was attempting to take over everything. He had been joined by the Third Squad Captain, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tousen, Captain of the Ninth Squad. While the traitors hadn't made any moves against Soul Society since their dramatic betrayal, everyone seemed positive that that would change soon.

"We have several plans in place for Aizen's next move," Urahara concluded, "but it's still going to be risky."

"No plan survives first contact with the enemy," Ken quoted. "And that's why Paradox was okay with me staying here, right? Because I could help?"

"Yes, along with Ben Tennyson, though he seems to be working _with _Aizen at the moment." Urahara tugged his hat lower over his eyes. "How are you two related, exactly? Paradox didn't say."

Ken scratched the back of his head nervously. Paradox hadn't told him _not _to explain things, after all. "Well, he's kind of my dad, but he isn't?" Again, he received some strange looks. "Okay, let me explain. You already know that I'm from another universe, right? Well, I'm also from an alternate timeline."

Jinta squinted at him. "How does that work?"

Ken thought about how to explain it. "Does anyone have a piece of paper and a pencil?"

Urahara immediately pulled out both from his pocket and handed them to Ken.

"Uh, thanks." Ken drew several circles on the paper. "Imagine that each circle is a separate universe. Some are _really _different; let's just focus on Earth, for now. In one universe, Humans never existed, while in another, everyone has three heads. Then there are universes that are almost identical, to the point where they're all called 'parallel universes'. Those universes are really only different in how their timelines progressed, or how people made certain choices." He shrugged. "I'd be willing to bet that my Dad and the Ben Tennyson in this universe are almost the same, but just had different adventures. I mean, Dad never told me about fighting in a war between spirits, and he told me about all of his adventures."

_Even the one about how Vilgax killed his family, _Ken thought. Ben had told him that story after he turned sixteen; Ken would never forget the tears that rolled down his father's face that day.

"So, this Ben Tennyson is just a different version of your dad?" Jinta asked.

Ken nodded. "Yeah, but Paradox wouldn't have told me to help him if he wasn't a good guy."

"Paradox has already told me as much," Urahara admitted, "but it's good to hear it from someone else." He then pulled out a fan and covered the lower half of his face. "Now then, what was that about you not needing food or drink? I'll admit, I'm curious."

Ken sighed; something told him that Urahara would hound him for answers, so it would be better to just come clean. "Well, you aren't the only one who's not Human. Okay, technically I'm _half_ Human; the other half is Kryptonian." If Urahara's wide eyes and Tessai's sharp intake of breath was any indication, they had already figured it out, but Jinta and Ururu were still in the dark. "I'm half alien. Oh, and I'm a superhero."

Jinta's jaw dropped, and Ururu's eyes went so wide that Ken worried that they would pop out of her head.

"Paradox didn't tell me _that_," Urahara muttered. "And being an alien means that you don't need to eat or drink?"

"Well, I could if I wanted to," Ken said, "but all I need for energy is some time in the sun, or stick my finger in an electrical socket. I can absorb most forms of energy."

"Really?" There was a thoughtful look on Urahara's face that made Ken a little worried. "Do you have any other abilities?"

"A few," Ken said, just to mess with the man. Then he had to wonder: did he have anything new? His fight with Zero had been pretty intense; it was possible that he'd acquired a new power without knowing.

_Please don't let it be something lame, _he begged silently.

"Absolutely fascinating," Urahara said, then grinned. "I have a feeling that the foreseeable future is going to be very interesting."

Ken glanced at Ururu. "Should I be worried?" The little girl held up one hand, then brought her forefinger and thumb about half an inch apart. Ken turned back to Urahara and sighed. "Just… don't try and clone me, or something. That's been tried a few times, and it never ends well."

All of them gave him a strange look, but thankfully didn't press. Ken was about to make another comment, when his super-hearing picked up something strange. To him, it sounded like something was tearing open, but it was no substance he was familiar with.

"What the heck is that?" he asked; when he saw the questioning looks of the others, he tapped his ear. "Super-hearing; it sounded like something was… I don't know… opening?"

Urahara frowned. "I need to check some of my instruments. Please wait here for a moment."

While Urahara was gone, Ken noticed that Jinta and Ururu looked vaguely confused and worried, but Tessai was extremely tense.

"It seems you may have arrived in the nick of time," the tall man said after a few moments of silence. "Aizen may be making his next move."

Ken shrugged. "With Paradox, there's no such thing as having bad timing."

"Indeed," Urahara said as he reentered the room. "In fact, he left something for you in my lab." He glanced over his shoulder. "Or, rather, some_one_."

Ken stared as a familiar face stepped out from behind Urahara. "Greta!?"

The young ghost put her fists on her hips and frowned. "Secret!"

"Right, right, sorry," Ken waved at her. "How have you been, Secret?"

Secret shrugged. "Secret."

Ken chuckled. "Right, should have guessed. I should stop asking you questions, huh?"

Secret nodded, then held out a small package with a note on top.

"I really wonder how you can lift things when you're a ghost," Ken muttered, then read the note aloud. "Dear Ken, I decided to send young Secret with you to keep you company. I felt it would be good to have a familiar face around. I also sent with her something that should help keep Ben safe. For the time being, it would be good that Aizen and his forces not make a connection between the two of you. Good luck; your friend, Paradox."

Secret beamed at Ken. "Secret!"

"First solo assignment?" Ken asked; Secret nodded. "Yeah, I know how that feels."

"You can understand her?" Jinta asked as Ken opened the package.

"Sometimes," Ken admitted. "I live with an alien symbiote who can only say one word, and my cousin has a pet ball that was made by gods and can turn into a flying tricycle with lasers and can only beep. I'm pretty used to understanding weird ways of talking." Ignoring the sputtering that came from Jinta and Tessai, Ken looked into the package. "Oh, that's nice. Thanks, Paradox."

"What did he give you?" Urahara asked, even as he wrote down everything Ken had said on a notebook.

Ken held up a black double-diamond mask, almost identical to the one Robin wore. The mask had white lenses and a small container of adhesive. Ken quickly applied the adhesive, then placed the mask on his face.

"That's going to take some getting used to," he commented, then looked down at himself. "Yeah, the jacket is going to have to go."

"Why's that?" Urahara asked.

"Ben wears a jacket almost exactly like this," Ken explained. "If I don't want the bad guys putting two and two together, I can't wear it." He quickly pulled off his jacket. "I guess I'll go check out that weird sound."

"You'd better hurry," Urahara said. "It seems that Aizen has sent two particularly powerful fighters, and Ichigo and his friends have gone to fight them." When Ken tilted his head, Urahara quickly said, "Ichigo is a young man with bright orange hair. You can't miss him."

Ken nodded. "I'll tell him you sent me."

"Not a bad idea. I'll be joining you shortly, I just need to get someone."

Ken still had many questions, and only had a vague idea of what was going on. However, Paradox had asked for his help, and he couldn't say no to making his dad's life easier—even if it wasn't _technically _his dad. With that in mind, he pushed aside his worries and headed for the door.

"It's Hero Time," he muttered, and sped off in the direction of the noise.

…

Ken arrived at the scene—a copse of trees on the outskirts of town—just in time to see a severed arm land near his feet. "Oh, gross!"

The owner of the arm, a huge man with odd ridges on his head and what looked like an animal's jawbone attached to his own jaw, let out a roar of pain and anger. Ken also noticed that he had a large hole in the center of his chest, but from the way it wasn't bleeding, he assumed that that was always there.

Behind the giant was a normal-sized, albeit thin, man who looked completely unfazed by the other's pain. His skin was almost as pale as his white clothes, and lines traced down his face from below each eye. He wore a white half-helmet on the left side of his head, from which a horn jutted out. Like the other, he had a hole in his body, though his was on his sternum, something that Ken found disturbing. Both men had sheathed katanas on their hips, but something about the weapons struck him as odd. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, though, and simply added it to the list of questions he would ask Urahara later.

"You little bastard!" the big man bellowed. "How dare you cut off my arm!"

Ken followed the giant's angry gaze to a teenage boy with bright orange hair—that had to be this Ichigo person. The boy wore an all-black outfit of baggy pants and a ragged coat with red on the inside. He held a black katana in his hands; it wasn't hard to deduce that he had been the one to cut off the big guy's arm.

There were two others nearby, but neither of them were in any shape to fight. The first, a tall, muscular teen with tan skin and messy hair, was lying in a heap off to the side. He was bloody and bruised, though Ken was intrigued by the way his right arm had transformed; it was black with red stripes, and had several angular plates coming out. The other person was a pretty girl with orange hair, who was trembling behind Ichigo.

"Yammy, do not kill him," the pale man said in an emotionless voice. "Lord Aizen wants to test the abilities of Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Fine, Ulquiorra," the big guy, Yammy, spat back, "but that doesn't mean I won't beat this punk into paste for what he did to my arm!"

_Oh, so that's what's going on, _Ken thought. _This is a scouting mission, to see what the enemy is capable of. I guess this Aizen guy has his sights on Ichigo. Well, I don't think letting him know all the guy's secrets is a good idea. Time to go to work._

Ken rushed forward, catching Yammy by surprise with a super-fast and super-strong punch to the jaw that sent him flying twenty feet back. Ichigo and the girl looked at Ken in shock, though all Ulquiorra did was tilt his head slightly.

"Who are you!?" Ichigo demanded.

"Long story," Ken said, not taking his eyes off his opponents. "For now, Urahara sent me to help out. Don't worry, backup's on the way."

"You… you little…!" Yammy sputtered as he got to his feet. "I'll crush you!"

"You're name is Ichigo, right?" Ken asked, not reacting to Yammy's threat.

"Yeah, why?" Ken noticed that Ichigo was very defensive, and wondered if he was always like that, or if it was because he was in a fight.

"Look, I know you don't trust me, but you need to get your friends back and keep them safe."

"I can fight!" Ichigo protested.

"I'm sure you can," Ken said, trying not to sound condescending, "but these guys were sent to see what you can do. Don't let them. I'll buy time until the cavalry arrives."

In his head, Ken hoped that Urahara and whoever else he was bringing actually was strong enough to count as the cavalry.

Yammy roared, and suddenly there was no more time to talk. Ken blocked Yammy's remaining fist with both of his arms, then grabbed the hand and heaved the giant over his shoulder and into the ground. Yammy didn't even have time to react before Ken was standing over him, delivering a series of super-strong punches to his face.

"Get off me!" Yammy shouted, then brought a knee up and into Ken's chest; the blow knocked him back and gave Yammy the time he needed to get back up.

_I actually felt that hit, _Ken thought. _I've been hit with worse, but I'd put this guy at Cyborg's level of strength… before he got upgraded, anyway. _Ken considered using one of his other powers against Yammy, but decided against it. _If these guys came to report on Ichigo's abilities, they'd do the same for me. I'd better keep a few tricks up my sleeves._

Ken didn't like relying solely on his Kryptonian powers, preferring to mix it up by throwing in his Ultimatrix abilities, but he could brawl just as well as Superboy. He cracked his knuckles and grinned at Yammy.

"Come on, then," he said. "What else you got?"

"I've got _this_!" Yammy thrust his first forward; an instant later, a red burst of energy was sent flying at Ken.

Ken was suddenly reminded of his fight against Zero; the last time he had dealt with energies he wasn't familiar with, he had been impaled. Thankfully, when the red blast hit him, he _did _absorb it; however, it was… slower than what he was used to, and there was still enough force to send him back a few steps. Still, Ken was glad that he was unhurt, and the energy had given him a decent boost.

"Huh, so you took the hit?" Yammy grinned. "Looks like you might be fun to fight, if you can withstand my Bala."

_Did he notice that I absorbed it? _Ken wondered. _He doesn't seem the type to analyze things. Maybe he just thought that I shrugged it off._

"Oh, you have no idea," Ken said, then charged in again; rather than a head-on attack, however, he sidestepped right and slammed his foot into Yammy's knee. With Yammy's own attack giving him a boost, Ken's kick had a lot of power behind it. Before the giant could retaliate, Ken grabbed him by the leg he'd kicked and hurled him at Ulquiorra.

The pale man leaned out of the way to avoid getting hit, but otherwise made no reaction. In fact, Ken would have said that he looked bored, but even that was too much. Ulquiorra had no expression whatsoever; it was like he had no emotions.

"Trash," Ulquiorra said. "I was not aware of non-Soul Reapers with your level of strength, but you are still trash."

Ken narrowed his eyes, then ran towards Ulquiorra; before he could attack, however, Yammy jumped back up and swung his arm down like a hammer. Ken crossed his arms over his head and blocked the hit, though the force of it still created a small crater in the ground.

"Is that all you've got?" Ken grunted, then moved in close and delivered five super-fast punches into Yammy's gut. "My little sister hits harder than you!"

With another roar of fury, Yammy swung his arm in a vicious backhand, slamming Ken back towards Ichigo, who had moved his two friends near the edge of the trees.

"Are you all right?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ken said as he brushed himself off. Between his natural healing factor, the bright sunlight, and the energy he had absorbed, Yammy's hits were easy to shrug off.

"You won't be fine after this!" Yammy pulled back his fist to fire another Bala, but just as he did, a crimson shield appeared to block the shot.

"Sorry we're late." Ken and Ichigo both turned to see Urahara behind them, holding out a sword with a black edge and a white edge, and an ornate handle. At his side was a beautiful woman with dark skin, even darker hair, yellow eyes that reminded Ken of a cat, and wearing a black and orange outfit.

Ken only nodded, then turned his attention back to the enemy; he could figure out who was who when there wasn't a fight going on.

"More of you bugs to crush!" Despite having only one arm, and plenty of bruises from Ken, Yammy looked like he was having the time of his life.

So fast that Ken could barely track her movements, the woman grabbed Yammy by the arm and slammed him into the ground, much like Ken had done earlier. She glanced at Ken and Urahara.

"Check on Chad," she said, "he's in bad shape."

Through process of elimination, Ken assumed that Chad was the big guy with the transformed arm. Urahara pulled a bag from his coat and moved towards Chad, just as Yammy got up—and Ken had to wonder just how much punishment that guy could take—and tried to smash all of them.

Urahara and Ken had already moved back, but the woman simply vanished, then reappeared next to Yammy and backhanded him. Ken was sure he heard Yammy's cheekbone fracture, and the woman wasn't done. She hopped onto his back, kicked him in the head, brought her hands together to hit him again, then jumped up to gain momentum before bringing her leg down in a vicious blow that created a ten-foot-deep crater, with Yammy at the bottom.

"Whoa," Ken breathed. He knew plenty of people who were as strong or fast—or both—as this person, but few of them—the good ones, anyway—fought so viciously. Ken was used to restraint.

"You have no idea," Urahara chuckled, then inspected Chad. "Orihime, can you heal him?"

The girl, who was no longer trembling as much, nodded. "Y-yes, I can!"

As Ken watched, Orihime held her hands near Chad's head; a moment later, two winged creatures emerged from her hairpins and created an orange field between them that encased Chad. To Ken's surprise, Chad's injuries slowly started repairing themselves!

_No, stupid, pay attention to the fight! _Ken berated himself, and turned back, just as Yammy opened his mouth wide; a moment later, a massive red beam fired out.

Ken put everything he had into intercepting the shot, and even though there was a huge explosion of dust and smoke from the impact, he had managed to absorb it all.

"How do you like my Cero, you maggots!?" Yammy laughed, but it died in his throat when he saw that not only were his targets still alive, they were all completely unharmed! "What!?"

Ken grinned. "Yeah, that wasn't so bad. Not even on my top ten worst hits."

Yammy gritted his teeth in rage; veins popped out on his forehead, and he moved to charge.

"That's enough, Yammy. We're leaving." Ulquiorra's words were calm, but something about the way he said it suggested that it would be a bad decision on Yammy's part to defy him.

"You sure, Ulquiorra?" Yammy asked; Ken noticed that he calmed down almost immediately.

The other man nodded. "We were only sent to test Ichigo Kurosaki. The person with the mask was unexpected, and the two newcomers are Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihouin. Lord Aizen warned us about those two."

Yammy scowled. "Yeah, fine." He glared at Ken and Ichigo. "Next time we meet, you runts, I'll kill you!"

Ken tensed, ready to move. "What makes you think we're going to let you leave?"

Urahara put a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me, we don't want to follow them."

Ulquiorra made a gently slashing motion with one finger; a second later, the air itself seemed to split and rupture. In the void, Ken could see an inky darkness; he didn't know what it was, but he was inclined to believe Urahara now.

Yammy grabbed his severed arm and followed Ulquiorra as he walked into the abyss; a moment later, it closed, looking for all the world like nothing had changed.

"Well, that was different," Ken said after a moment.

Yoruichi—and now Ken had a name for the face—glanced at him. "Really? From what Kisuke told me, I assumed you were used to fighting."

"No, that's par for the course," Ken said easily. "I meant the holes in their chests. That was kinda creepy."

Yoruichi smirked. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it." She walked over to Chad and gave him a quick check. "He's safe to be moved now. Let's get everyone back to the shop to finish healing, and then we can all get some answers."

Ken looked at Ichigo and Orihime, who were giving him wide-eyed stares. "Yeah, that's probably a good thing."

**And, cut! For those of you not in the know, this story has officially crossed with Bleach, but not the normal Bleach. You see, my story is now running parallel to another story, one being told by my friend, Bigby the Big Bad Wolf! Please go and read his stuff, it's very good!**

**Bigby: Hi, everyone! And thanks for the compliment, Muffin.**

**Muffin: No problem, thank _you_ for letting Ken visit Bleach: Ultimate Alien Remake, Bigby.**

**Bigby: Just so long as Ken doesn't overshadow anyone he shouldn't.**

**Muffin: Don't worry, I won't. I only had Ken do well in this fight because, well, Yammy's pre-released state kinda sucks, and the only reason Ichigo didn't dominate the entire fight in canon was because of his Inner Hollow thing. And, since Chromastone was able to absorb spirit-based attacks in your original story, I thought it would be fine if Ken was able to do the same. After all, he has the same power. Things won't always be easy for Ken, even if he is half-Kryptonian, and 50% of Superman still means that he should be able to lift a mountain if he really tried.**

**Bigby: … You're not helping your case, buddy.**

**Muffin: Hey, I'm only telling this arc from Ken's perspective! Don't worry, I promise that he won't beat up or overshadow Ben. It's still your story, I'm just playing in the same sandbox, and you can tell me to leave at any time.**

**Bigby: Well, thanks. I look forward to working with you.**

**Muffin: Likewise! Now, onto the preview and quote!**

**Next Chapter: Ken learns more about the strange world he's in, and discovers some new things about himself.**

**Set a course for Muffins, maximum warp!**


	11. Ultimate Heroes, Part 2

**BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I SUPPOSE I SHOULD SAY THAT BLEACH DOES NOT BELONG TO ME EITHER, JUST TO BE SAFE. I THINK ALL MY BASES ARE COVERED.**

**I just want to say thanks for all the positive feedback for the last chapter. It made me confident that this was a good move. Or at least an entertaining one.**

Unlimited Justice, Part 2

Chapter 11

Ultimate Heroes, Part 2

**Karakura Town**

"Does this sort of thing happen a lot?" Ken asked as he sat down at the table with Urahara and Yoruichi.

"You mean Hollows attacking?" Yoruichi shrugged. "That sort of thing happens all the time, at least in this town. Those Arrancars, though…"

Ken blinked. "Those what?"

"Arrancars," Urahara said. "They're the next step in Hollow evolution. The more souls a Hollow devours, the more powerful it becomes, going through several transformations along the way. Arrancars are just the latest step, thanks to Aizen."

"Yeah, the shorter guy, Ulquiorra, mentioned Aizen." Ken frowned. "He and the big guy were sent to see what Ichigo was capable of."

"Well, hopefully you arrived before Aizen learned too much." Urahara pulled a fan out of his sleeve and tapped his chin. "Though I'm afraid Aizen may take an interest in _you_, now."

Ken smirked. "I'm not in the habit of letting the bad guys know all my tricks unless I have to."

"Secret," Secret said as she walked through the wall and sat next to Ken.

"Exactly," Ken said sagely, "I want to keep them guessing."

"Does she say _anything _else?" Yoruichi asked.

"Not as far as I know." Ken glanced at the little girl. "Do you?"

"Secret."

"There's your answer."

Yoruichi rubbed her temples. "This could get annoying."

"Secret."

Yoruichi narrowed her eyes at Secret. "Now you're just doing that on purpose."

Secret only grinned.

"Anyway," Ken said, trying to move things along, "how is that big guy? His name is Chad, right?"

"Well, it's what everyone calls him," Urahara said. "And in answer to your question, he's recovering well. He'll be able to go home by tonight."

Ken smiled. "The bad guys ran away, and everyone on our side is going to be okay. I call that a good day."

Urahara shook his head. "Actually, Orihime took a loss before you arrived. One of her spirits, like the ones you saw earlier, was destroyed. As far as I can tell, there isn't a way to bring him back."

"Oh." Ken looked down at the table, not sure what else to say.

"Hey, Kisuke, is Chad doing all right?" Everyone looked up to see Ichigo in the doorway. He was wearing normal clothes and his sword was gone, and something about him seemed different to Ken.

"Yes, Ichigo, he's recovering. Orihime said that he should be well enough to go home in a few hours." Urahara then smirked. "I'm glad you didn't lose your body."

"You make it sound like it always happens," Ichigo grumbled.

Ken gave both of them a confused look, and Urahara explained. "Ichigo is actually a normal Human, but he can leave his body to become a Soul Reaper."

"Ah, got it." Ken waved lazily at Ichigo. "Hi. I'm Ken."

Ichigo nodded hesitantly, like he was unused to the motion. "Thanks for helping today."

Ken grinned. "Hey, I'm a superhero; it's what I do."

Ichigo blinked, then glanced over at Urahara, who nodded enthusiastically. "It's true, Ichigo; Ken here is an alien superhero from another universe!"

From the way Ichigo was staring, Ken started to worry that his eyes were going to pop out of his head. "Should I tell him the whole story, or is he already broken?"

"Telling him might be wise," Urahara said. "Why don't you also tell Chad and Orihime while you and Ichigo escort them home?"

Ken shrugged at Ichigo. "Do you mind?"

Ichigo shook his head, but not as an answer to Ken's question; he was just snapping out of his brief daze. "Sure, if you want."

"I'll come back when they're all home," Ken said to Urahara as he got up.

"See you soon!" Urahara said cheerily. "I have so many questions I want to ask you when you return!"

Ken glanced uneasily at Ichigo. "I still think it's creepy when he does that."

"Yeah," Ichigo grumbled, glaring at Urahara, "I know how that feels."

…

Karakura Town, Ken mused as he walked, was a quiet place. Not a single person was outside to see him and his new friends. It was so different from San Francisco, or even Happy Harbor; there was always at least a little noise in Happy Harbor. Ken was glad for the quiet; it would have been impossible to give Ichigo, Orihime, and an unsteady Chad his story if there had been people out and about. Even so, he kept his voice down.

"… and then I heard those Arrancars show up, and you know the rest," Ken finished. He idly pulled at the grey hoodie that Urahara had lent him to help hide his identity; maybe he was being paranoid, but since he had left his mask back at the shop, he kept the hood up and pulled low over his eyes.

All three of his companions were staring at him—although only one of Chad's eyes was visible behind his mop of hair.

"You're really from another universe, Ken?" Orihime asked. "And you're an _alien_?"

"Half alien," Ken corrected, "but, yeah, it's all true."

"Are there other aliens where you're from?" Orihime started poking Ken's shoulder, as if that would somehow make him look less Human. "Are there robots? Oh! Are there alien robots!?"

"Um, yes to all of the above?" Ken shrugged. "Earth—my Earth, anyway—is kind of like the refugee camp of the universe. Aliens with nowhere else to go keep showing up."

"Is that what happened to you?" Chad asked, speaking up for the first time; Ken was surprised at how soft his voice was.

Ken shook his head. "Nah, I was born on Earth." Then, just because he knew it would be funny, he added, "The North Pole, to be precise."

That got him even wider eyes. "Is there _anything _normal about you?" Ichigo asked.

"I go to high school. That's about it." Ken grinned wryly. "Everything else is explosions and saving the day."

"Can you tell us some stories about life in your universe?" Orihime asked excitedly; for a moment, Ken was reminded of Jen whenever his sister wanted to know what the Team was doing.

"Maybe later tomorrow," Ken said; with all the missions the Team had done, he needed to go over which he could really talk about. "Don't you guys have school to go to? You all need some sleep."

Ichigo scowled, but Ken knew he was right. In particular, Chad looked ready to collapse; Orihime had mostly healed his injuries, but he was swaying on his feet. Ichigo saw this without Ken needing to prompt him, and gave in.

"Chad's house isn't too far away now," he said. "Then we can take Orihime home."

"Th-that's okay, Ichigo!" Orihime was blushing furiously. "I'm fine! Really!"

Ichigo gave her a flat look, and Ken crossed his arms. "You could have been killed today. We'll walk you home."

It didn't take long to get Chad into his house, and without him slowing them down, Orihime was escorted to her own home quickly and without incident. That left Ken with Ichigo, who said that he didn't need anyone to take him home.

"I'm going to use the same argument that we used on Orihime," Ken said. "Besides, better safe than sorry."

Ichigo hunched his shoulders and stalked off. "Fine, do whatever you want."

_Wow, someone's moody, _Ken thought; after a few minutes of walking behind Ichigo, he matched his pace. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Hey, come on, you owe me for what happened today," Ken said. "I promise I won't tell anyone else if you don't want me to."

Ichigo shrugged, clearly uncomfortable. "Maybe later. I need some time to think."

Ken nodded, accepting the not-quite answer. From what he could guess, though, Ichigo was having some confidence issues, likely stemming from what had happened earlier that day.

_Maybe he's not used to losing, _Ken thought. _Or needing help._

Ken could relate to that. When he was much younger, he had thought that being the son of Ben 10 and Supergirl meant that he was invincible. Between lectures from his parents and a few bad encounters with supervillains earlier in his superhero career, Ken learned the value of accepting help.

In the end, Ken decided that if Ichigo asked him for help, he'd give it, but it wasn't his place to push. Besides, they'd known each other for less than a day; neither of them was going to be giving the other their life's story. Ken had given Ichigo and his friends some information about where he'd come from and how he'd arrived in this universe, but there were some details he planned on keeping to himself for a while.

About a block away from Ichigo's house, Ken was asked to stay back.

"I don't bring people over very often," Ichigo explained. "I don't want my family asking too many questions."

"That's fine," Ken said. "Let me guess, you're doing this to keep them safe?"

For the first time since Ken had met him, Ichigo smirked. "Is something like that common with superheroes?"

"It's practically a requirement," Ken half-joked, then turned to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ichigo."

Ichigo waved halfheartedly over his shoulder as he walked away. "Later."

As soon as Ichigo was out of sight, Ken started walking. He didn't get far before almost running into Secret.

"Secret?" the ghost pointed in the direction Ichigo had gone.

"He's almost home," Ken said. "I'll keep the super-hearing up until I know he's… never mind, he just walked inside. See? He's fine."

Secret frowned, but nodded.

"Something I should… wait, I already know the answer."

"Secret."

"Dang it."

…

It wasn't long after Ken returned to Urahara's shop that he found another surprise waiting. It seemed that Soul Society had sent help after Urahara had told them about the Arrancar attack, and the newcomers had just arrived.

"Don't worry," Urahara said to Ken, "these people are friends with Ichigo." He paused for a moment. "Well, some of them are his friends. The others at least respect him."

"Something tells me that there's a story there," Ken said as he followed Urahara to his basement—where, apparently, the other Soul Reapers would be arriving.

"There is, but I'll let Ichigo and his friends tell you that one." Urahara smiled. "It's only fair, since you might be telling them _your _story."

"That was actually the idea," Ken admitted. "I mean, if I'm going to be here for a while, it'll be easier if you guys can trust me."

Urahara nodded, then gestured for Ken to follow him. The corridor opened up to the wide expanse underneath the shop; Ken noticed that there was even a false sky overhead.

To Ken's bemusement, Urahara pouted. "I was expecting some kind of reaction; most people do when they see this for the first time."

Ken shrugged. "Actually, I kinda saw it when I first got here." He tapped a finger right below his eye. "X-ray vision."

"Oh, well that's not fair," Urahara whined, then sulked as he led Ken down the stairs, where six people were waiting.

Even if Ken didn't know of Soul Reapers at that point, he could have still guessed that this group was part of the same organization. All of them wore black robes—at least, that's what they looked like to Ken—and all had katanas. One of them, who looked like a twelve-year-old boy with spiky white hair, had a sleeveless white coat over his outfit. Two others, a curvaceous woman and a man with tied-back red hair that made his head look vaguely like a pineapple, had badges on their arms.

"This is the new guy you mentioned?" a tall man with a shaven head asked. "He doesn't look like much."

"Didn't you say the same about Ichigo?" the man next to him, with jaw-length hair, colorful feathers on his right eye, and some orange added to his uniform, said playfully. "And look what happened."

The bald man grumbled, but didn't argue.

The white-haired boy ignored the banter. "What's this about, Urahara? You only mentioned that we had some additional help."

Urahara pulled his fan out and covered his mouth. "Well, this young man is Ken Tennyson, and he…" he fluttered the fan as he built up suspense, "is an alien superhero from another universe!"

Even without super-hearing, Ken knew that he would have heard a pin drop in the silence that followed. He wondered if Urahara was enjoying the reactions people had when he told them about Ken.

"Hi," Ken said. "Yes, I'm from another universe, I'm a superhero, but I'm only half alien. The other half is Human."

Secret, who had stayed behind Ken the entire time, chose that moment to pop her head out from behind him. "Secret!"

Ken rolled his eyes. "And this is Secret, a ghost from my universe who hangs out with a time-traveling superhero." He shrugged awkwardly. "And I guess we're here to help you guys?"

All of the Soul Reapers, including a petite young woman with black hair and big eyes who had been standing behind the red-haired man, glanced at Urahara.

"It's true," the shopkeeper said cheerfully. "It seems that Aizen has some help from someone that Ken knows, and Ken was asked to help level the playing field, so to speak."

"Can he really help us?" the white-haired boy asked.

Urahara nodded. "He fought an Arrancar today and walked away without a scratch." He glanced at Ken. "I suppose that introductions are in order."

He gestured to the white-haired boy. "This is Toshiro Hitsugaya, Captain of the Tenth Squad." Then he pointed to the taller woman of the group. "And this is his Lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto." Then there was the red-haired man. "That is Lieutenant Renji Abarai, of the Sixth Squad." He waved his arm at the bald man and the one with feathers. "That is Third Seat Ikkaku Madarame and Fifth Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa, both of the Eleventh Squad." Finally, he nodded at the petite woman. "And this is Rukia Kuchiki, of the Thirteenth Squad."

Ken noted their ranks; he figured that a Captain was the highest rank, followed by Lieutenant, and then seated officers. He also noticed that Rukia apparently didn't have a rank, and wondered why that was.

"So, Urahara," Hitsugaya said, his tone not giving away anything, "he was able to fight some of Aizen's troops, but how powerful is he?"

"Is he going to keep talking like I'm not here?" Ken asked, to no one in particular.

"I have an idea," Urahara said, ignoring Ken's question. "Why don't one of you fight against him, and see just how strong he is for yourselves?"

"I'll do it!" Madarame shouted, practically jumping forward.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Ken asked. "I don't have a problem fighting the bad guys, but I have to know what a sparring partner can take, so that I don't seriously hurt them."

Urahara glanced at him. "Really?"

Ken nodded. "There are two, maybe three people I regularly hang out with back home that I don't have to worry about hurting."

Now that Ken thought about it, he was glad that Superboy had his cousin to spar with; considering that Superboy didn't hold back as much as Ken, he could have put one of their teammates in the hospital.

"Well, don't worry so much," Urahara assured him, "Soul Reapers can take quite a bit more punishment than a normal Human, and they heal much faster."

Ken mulled it over for a few seconds, then nodded. "Fine, but only if everyone else backs up." Urahara and the other Soul Reapers took a few steps back. "You're going to have to go further than that. If I'm going to take this seriously, I don't want any of you caught in the explosions. And yes, there might be explosions."

If anything, Madarame's grin grew even wider, while everyone else looked intrigued; still, they did as Ken asked and retreated a good twenty feet away. Only Secret remained where she was, since she was a ghost, and nothing Ken did could hurt her.

Madarame drew his katana with his left hand, then held his sheath out with his right. "You ready, superhero?"

Ken brought his arms up, fists clenched. "Your move, uh… Ikkaku, right?"

"Yeah, that's right." Madarame—though Ken was already thinking of him as Ikkaku—nodded. "In my squad, it's customary to give your opponent your name, so that we can know the name of our killer."

"Uh, this is just a spar," Ken said, now a little disturbed by the man's smile.

Ikkaku just shrugged. "Just wanted to let you know." Then he lunged forward, his sword aimed at Ken's neck.

Falling back on his training, Ken blocked the sword with his arm, despite remembering what happened the last time someone with a sword had attacked him. Thankfully, unlike his fight with Harm, Ikkaku's sword bounced off the back of Ken's hand, though Ken was surprised that he felt the impact. It didn't hurt much, but he noticed a faint red line on his skin that quickly faded.

Ikkaku, on the other hand, was shocked. "That blow should have taken your hand off, kid; did you know that it wouldn't hurt you?"

Ken gave him a sheepish smile. "Not really, but I'm bulletproof, so I guessed that I'd be okay. I usually am."

He refrained from mentioning that someone with greater strength than him, certain types of magic, Kryptonite, and New Gods could all seriously hurt him; telling people his weaknesses would be a stupid move, even if they were all on the same side.

"Well, let's test how tough you really are!" Ikkaku charged again, swinging with both sword and sheath.

Rather than simply let Ikkaku hit him, Ken mixed in dodging with his blocks as he studied his opponent. Though Ikkaku seemed like a berserker at first glance, Ken noticed that all of his attacks were aimed at spots that would seriously injure, if not kill, an ordinary person.

"Come on, you can't go on the defensive all the time!" Ikkaku yelled. "Throw a punch or something!"

"You asked for it," Ken said with a smirk. He darted around to Ikkaku's side with a burst of super-speed and threw out a jab; the blow only grazed Ikkaku's shoulder, but still had enough force to spin the man around. Before Ikkaku could steady himself, Ken surprised everyone by blasting him in the chest with a ball of Mana.

"What was _that_!?" Ikkaku demanded, rubbing his chest with the back of his hand.

"Mana," Ken said simply. "One of my many tricks. Here's another."

Ikkaku crossed his blade and sheath in front of him to ward off whatever Ken was about to do; sadly for him, his sword was over the sheath, which made it a perfect conductor for the lightning that Ken shot out from his hand. Ikkaku jerked back as the electricity coursed through him.

"Lightning as well?" Ken heard Urahara say. "I wonder how many other powers he has."

"Fine, time to get serious!" Ikkaku got back up, then put the hilt of his sword into his sheath. "Extend, Houzukimaru!"

Wind seemed to curl around the weapon and sheath; a moment later, it transformed into what looked like a bamboo staff with a short blade on one end, and a metal cap with a red tassel on the other.

"Huh," Ken said, "that's new."

"You mean Urahara over there didn't tell you?" Ikkaku grinned. "All Soul Reapers' swords are called Zanpakutou, which can transform and have different powers. Mine is Houzukimaru."

Ken glanced at the spear; it didn't look like much, but considering what he had been dealing with that day, he wasn't going to underestimate it.

"Now then," Ikkaku said, leveling his spear at Ken, "let's have some fun!"

This time, Ken took the initiative and charged. He didn't move at his full speed, but he was still going faster than a normal Human could track. Ikkaku proved that his reflexes were faster than that of a normal Human when he leaned out of the way of Ken's punch, then tried to stab him in the face. Ken leaned out of the way of the blade, but Ikkaku wasn't done; as soon as the first third of the spear passed by Ken's head, Houzukimaru split into three sections, each one connected by a short length of chain. With a flick of his wrist, Ikkaku wrapped the spear around Ken's chest and neck.

"I guess this fight's over already," Ikkaku said; he sounded disappointed.

To his surprise, Ken smiled. "Not even close."

Before Ikkaku could point out the obvious, that Ken was now trapped within his spear, Ken simply walked through Houzukimaru, as if it wasn't even there! As soon as he was clear, the segments of the spear fell to the ground. Ikkaku was so shocked, he couldn't move out of the way of Ken's fist, which was buried in his gut with enough force to send him flying a dozen yards back.

"Intangibility," Ken explained. "Unless you've got something else you can use, nothing you've got can even touch me."

"Let's find out!" Ikkaku reconnected his spear into one piece, then swung wildly at Ken, who merely crossed his arms. Much to Ikkaku's obvious frustration, each of his attacks passed harmlessly through Ken's head and chest.

Finally having enough, Ken reached out and put his arm through Ikkaku's face. "_Now _the fight's over. All I have to do is become solid again, and your head goes 'pop'."

Of course, even if it had been a real fight and not a spar, Ken wouldn't have actually gone through with his threat. He had no plans to cross that line.

"Well, I think that settles that," Urahara said, suddenly appearing between the two; to Ken's eyes, it looked like a cross between super-speed and teleportation. "Are you satisfied, Captain Hitsugaya?"

Ikkaku glanced at the Captain, who nodded. As soon as he stepped back, he grabbed Houzukimaru and pulled; a moment later, the spear separated into a katana and sheath once again.

"Thanks for the fight," Ikkaku grumbled. "It was fun, until you pulled that intangibility crap. I call that cheating."

"I call it winning," Ken shot back. "Still, if I'm going to be here for a while, I guess it wouldn't hurt to improve myself." When Ikkaku grinned, he added, "But I'm not going to fight all the time."

"Aw, come on!" Ikkaku whined. "You're as bad as Ichigo!"

Ken glanced at the relieved expressions that everyone but Yumichika had. "I'm going to consider that a compliment."

While Ikkaku complained under his breath, Hitsugaya walked up to Ken. "Since we now know that you can fight, I want to know one more thing."

"And that would be?" Ken crossed his arms and tried not to look like he was looking down on the Captain.

"_Why _are you helping us?" Hitsugaya asked. "If you're really from another universe, you don't have any connection to us or to Aizen."

Ken shrugged. "You're right, I don't have any direct reason to help you. In fact, I want to be back home; a lot of my friends were hurt before I got here, and even though I was told that they're fine, I'm not happy about being here when I could be with them.

"The problem is that someone I sort of know is working with Aizen." Hitsugaya opened his mouth to speak, but Ken beat him to it. "He doesn't know that Aizen is the bad guy; if he did, he'd probably just beat the snot out of him. My job is to make sure that he doesn't get killed—either by Aizen, _or _you guys. Oh, and he's really powerful, so me being on your side kind of balances things out."

"Is he that strong?" Ikkaku asked, grinning wickedly.

Ken thought about all his father could do, and nodded. "You have no idea. As far as I know, I'm the only one who can at least keep him busy. If it came to an honest fight… yeah, I'd be toast."

Hitsugaya frowned. "And what makes you think that won't happen?"

"Because he's a superhero, just like me," Ken said. "He won't, not if I can talk to him."

"Why would he listen to you?" Renji asked.

Ken took a breath; this next part was going to get some interesting reactions. "Well… he's kind of my dad."

Jaws dropped and eyes went wide, though Hitsugaya was fastest to recover. "Explain. Now."

Ken did so, going over the concept of the multiverse, as well as different timelines. By the time he was done, he had hammered in the point that Ben _was _his father, but at the same time, he wasn't.

"Heck, I've never met this version of Dad," Ken admitted. "For all I know, he's got a totally different family than mine."

"But you're positive that he will fight against Aizen when he has to?" Hitsugaya asked; he seemed almost obsessed with the topic.

"I am," Ken assured him. "If there's one thing I know, it's that Ben will do the right thing when it counts."

Hitsugaya seemed to think about it for a moment, then nodded. "I don't have any reason to believe you, but I also don't have a reason _not _to. For now, I'll reserve my judgment for later."

"I'll take it," Ken said; honestly, he had expected worse.

"Now that that's settled," Urahara said, clapping his hands to get their attention, "I believe that you all need to be fitted for your gigai. Come along, everyone!" He glanced at Ken and Secret. "Is there anything you two need?"

Ken and Secret looked at each other and shrugged. "I think we're good."

"Secret."

Urahara smiled. "Then I will see you both tomorrow morning."

With Secret in tow, Ken went to the room that had been prepared for him. He noticed that his mask and jacket had been neatly placed on his mattress.

"Did you do that?" Ken asked Secret.

Secret looked indignant. "Secret!"

"I know that you're not a maid, I'm just asking."

"Secret!" Secret huffed and sat down near the door.

Ken sighed as he went to bed; he wasn't that tired, but it had been a very strange day. "Goodnight, Secret."

"Secret."

…

The next day, Ken spotted the Soul Reapers as they were leaving the shop. The only signs that they were in their gigai was the lack of swords, and that they were wearing school uniforms. The guys were wearing white shirts and grey pants, while the girls wore white blouses with grey skirts. Ken felt his eyebrow twitch when he saw that a good part of Rangiku's blouse was unbuttoned; he had a feeling that she would be turning even more heads.

"So, where are you guys going?" Ken asked.

"To Ichigo's school," Rukia said. "It would be a good idea to keep an eye on him, Chad, Orihime, and anyone else that Aizen might go after."

"And you don't think you'll, uh… draw attention to yourselves?" Ken hid a grin when everyone glanced at Rangiku. "Besides, wouldn't people ask questions if a bunch of new students suddenly showed up?"

Not to mention, Ken realized, that some of them didn't exactly look like high school students. Rukia could do it, since she looked around fifteen, but Hitsugaya looked like he was too young, and everyone else looked like they were around twenty. He wasn't going to comment on any of that, though; he wasn't stupid.

"Don't worry, we have memory-altering technology," Rukia said easily. "Everyone will accept us as normal before long."

Ken, not being aware that they had such technology, blinked. "Huh. Don't, uh… don't use that on me, okay? I've already gone through amnesia once, I don't need any other problems with my brain."

Renji, who wore a bandana around his forehead to conceal the strange black marks, gave him a look. "That sounds like a story."

"Yeah, I'll tell you guys about it later." Ken was just glad that that story was one that didn't have a terrible ending. "Have fun at school!"

"And here I thought I was the only one who liked to tease," Urahara said as the Soul Reapers left. "At least you're not as uptight as Ichigo."

"Speaking of Ichigo, are he and his friends going to be okay?" Ken asked. "I mean, those guys will be there if something happens, but…"

"Don't worry so much." Urahara's words were calm, but his expression turned grim, and a little sad. "I'm positive that Aizen won't involve Ichigo's school, or innocent people, unless his plans require it. Even if he _did _attack the school, Captain Hitsugaya and the others have Mod-Soul Dispensers—if they use them, artificial souls will control the gigai while the Soul Reapers are off fighting."

Urahara shook his head. "Back to Aizen. When it comes to fighting us, he wants to prove his own superiority; that he doesn't need to involve innocent bystanders or anything like that." Urahara spotted Ken's question on his face before he could ask. "And yes, he _is _that arrogant."

Ken blinked; years ago, back when the Justice League was only a few years old, a lot of supervillains acted like they were invincible, walking around like they owned wherever they were. After years of getting beaten by heroes, many of those same criminals had been forced to accept some humility. To see someone who still acted like that was really surprising for Ken. The only good thing about it all was that worrying about civilians getting caught in the crossfire wouldn't be an issue.

"So… why hasn't he been stopped yet?" Ken asked.

"Two reasons." Urahara held up two fingers. "First, the power of his Zanpakutou, Kyouka Suigetsu. It has the power of complete hypnosis; anyone who sees his sword activate immediately has their senses, even their ability to sense spiritual power, completely under Aizen's thrall.

"Second, most of Soul Society was completely in the dark about what Aizen was doing, and he's had more than a century to plan. He may be arrogant, but he's also smart, and he has the power to back it up."

Ken shook his head. "He made sure he had all the advantages, didn't he?"

Urahara smiled. "He tried, but I've had almost as long to plan against him." The smile became slightly colder. "And, not to brag, but even though I haven't had as long to plan, I know that I'm smarter than he is." He patted Ken's shoulder. "Come, let's go inside."

"Any other advantages in our corner?" Ken asked they walked.

"Well, I'd say that Soul Society will be able to handle most of Aizen's forces," Urahara said. "And Ichigo is something of a wild card; you might not believe it, but he became strong enough to take on Captain-level Soul Reapers in barely any time at all. His growth is phenomenal, and just a little frightening." Urahara's smile regained its warmth. "And, of course, we have you! Aizen could never have predicted you, and I doubt that he could have predicted Ben. If he is as powerful as you and Professor Paradox claim, then things are going to be very… interesting."

"If you say so," Ken said, though he had to admit that Urahara probably had a point about him and Ben. The bad guys usually never saw a Tennyson coming, no matter the universe.

…

It was later that evening that events picked up again; until then, Ken had been amusing himself by having conversations with Secret while in earshot of anyone in the shop. At one point, Yoruichi had stormed off, clutching her hair and looking extremely annoyed. There were only so many times one could hear the same word over and over.

Another thing he'd done was learn. Urahara had given him a crash course in Soul Reaper abilities, which he believed were similar to some Arrancar powers. First of all, both Soul Reapers and Arrancar had access to spiritual energy, collectively known as reiatsu, or spiritual pressure. This energy fueled all of their powers, but it would only last for so long, and when it ran out, the Soul Reaper—or, Urahara theorized, Arrancar—would be nearly helpless.

Soul Reapers could also use the Flash Step, the technique that Urahara had used to get between Ken and Ikkaku. Most Soul Reapers only used it for traveling, but others were so skilled at it that they could use it in battle.

The lessons continued for several hours, and Ken learned a great deal. However, once night fell, Ken heard a familiar sound—the tearing noise that had heralded the Arrancars' arrival before.

Ken found Urahara less than a minute after he heard it, his mask already on his face. "They're back."

"I know," Urahara said grimly. "My instruments just picked them up. Six Arrancars just arrived, and they're splitting up. The Soul Reapers are already moving to intercept them. If you could find Ichigo—"

"On it." Ken glanced over his shoulder at Secret. "Stay here, and don't get into trouble."

To his surprise, Secret shook her head and held out her hand. Her eyes glowed white, and then a dagger appeared in her open hand; it took Ken a moment to recognize the weapon.

"It disturbs me to see you using the same knife that killed you," Ken said uneasily; nearby, even Urahara spared a moment to glance at the ghost.

Secret shrugged. "Secret."

Ken didn't argue further; he threw open the door to the shop and ran out, Secret right behind him, but they only took a few steps before they saw Renji squaring off with a man—an Arrancar—with long blonde hair.

"Secret!" Before either Ken or Renji could react, Secret ran—then _flew_—at the Arrancar, dagger aimed at his chest.

"What has Paradox been teaching you?" Ken muttered to himself, then turned to Renji. "Hey, I'm going to look for Ichigo. Make sure Secret doesn't do anything stupid."

Renji glanced at him, and then at Secret, who had already left dozens of small cuts over the Arrancar's chest and arms. "Uh… sure."

Ken took off in a blur of super-speed; he knew where Ichigo lived, but his X-ray vision allowed him to spot another problem first. He altered course, and in a few second, he ran past Chad and slammed his fist into the jaw of the Arrancar that was attacking him.

"Hey, Chad," Ken said cheerfully. "How's it going?"

To Chad, it would have looked like Ken had just appeared in a blur, and it took him a second to process what had happened.

"I'm fine. I can fight this guy."

Ken looked at the Arrancar he'd punched, but was now getting up from his prone position a few dozen yards down the street. He was short, with an odd shell-shaped mask-like thing on his head, the right side of which was wrapped in green cloth. His teeth were serrated and oddly shaped; they reminded Ken of a chainsaw with dull teeth.

All in all, Ken wasn't very impressed by this Arrancar, even if he had taken a super-strong punch that had come from someone running at almost five hundred miles per hour. Still, he wasn't going to underestimate this one, _especially _because of the punch he'd endured.

To Ken's continued surprise, the Arrancar narrowed his one visible eye at him and pointed. "You!"

Ken shared a confused glance with Chad before looking at the Arrancar. "Do I know you?"

"No, but I know about you!" the Arrancar shouted with a slight lisp, already flying back towards Ken. "Lord Aizen was actually impressed by what you did to Yammy!"

Ken ducked under the Arrancar's fist, then grabbed his arm and forced it behind his back. He then did the same with his other arm.

"I'm going to give you one chance to surrender," Ken said calmly.

"Like hell I'm giving up!"

Ken sighed. "Hey, Chad?"

Chad, who had been frozen for most of the fight so far, blinked. "Yeah?"

"Do you have a punching bag at your place?"

"No, why?"

Ken grinned and frog-marched the Arrancar so that he was facing Chad. "Then happy early birthday!"

Chad blinked again, before a tiny smile flitted across his face. He drew back his right arm, which transformed into the red-and-black limb that Ken had seen before, albeit undamaged.

By the time Ichigo arrived, the Arrancar Ken was restraining had several large bruises on his face, as well as several missing teeth.

Ichigo stared at the scene in disbelief. "Uh, what?"

"Hi, Ichigo," Ken said casually. "I'm just helping Chad get used to his new punching bag."

The Arrancar chose that moment to kick out with both feet, sending Chad flying back a short distance, and then slammed the back of his head into Ken's face. Chad recovered easily enough, and Ken was barely even fazed, but it still surprised him enough for the Arrancar to squirm out of his grip.

"Well, so much for the easy win," Ken muttered, then scowled when the Arrancar started to fly upwards. "You guys can fly, right?"

Ichigo was shaken out of his brief daze when the Arrancar got free. "Yeah, I can."

"I can't," Chad admitted, but he still looked determined. "But I can still fight."

"No," Ichigo all but ordered, "I can take this guy."

Ken had to admit that, without the ability to fly, Chad would be at a disadvantage; however, the way Ichigo so quickly dismissed his friend bothered him, and he could tell that Chad felt even worse. Then Ken had an idea; he quickly scanned the area with his X-ray vision until he found what—or rather, who—he was looking for.

"Chad, we've got another problem," he said quietly, before Chad could argue with Ichigo. "All Orihime has for protection is that lady Lieutenant's gigai." That got the attention of both Chad and Ichigo. "If you keep her safe, everyone else will feel more secure."

As someone who regularly led others, Ken had to know what situations a teammate was best suited for. He would never have Seeker go fight someone like Blockbuster on her own, and he wouldn't send Warhawk to infiltrate a criminal organization. Granted, things rarely went according to plan, but the Team at least tried to have the right people do the right jobs.

Beyond that, outright dismissing Chad would never help his confidence, both in himself and in Ichigo. Ken made a mental note to talk to Ichigo about that kind of thing; working with others was almost always the best way to win, and there was no way he would be stupid enough to think that he could handle everything by himself, right?

"Fine, I'll take care of her," Chad said, then turned and ran in the direction of Orihime's home.

The Arrancar snickered. "You should have kept that big guy with you; with all three of you attacking me at once, you might actually be a threat!"

Ken almost laughed. "Is this guy serious?"

"I think he is," Ichigo said, sounding almost as incredulous as Ken felt.

"Hey! I have a name!" The Arrancar pointed at himself. "I'm Di Roy, Arrancar Sixteen, and you are?" Before either Ken or Ichigo could answer, Di Roy shook his head. "Eh, doesn't matter. If I had to hear the name of everyone I plan on killing tonight, it'd really become troublesome after a while."

"Ichigo," Ken muttered, just loud enough for him to hear, "go high."

Before Ichigo said anything, Ken ran forward, then launched himself into the air with a powerful leap. He spun around and attempted to kick Di Roy in the head, but the Arrancar leaned out of the way.

Di Roy laughed. "Ha! Like I'd get hit by some weird Human twice!"

"It's called a distraction, stupid!" Ken shouted back.

Di Roy had about half a second to process that before he turned around and saw Ichigo's cleaver-like sword heading towards his face. The blade scored a narrow cut across his cheek, but Di Roy flew back to street-level, avoiding the worst of the hit. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he prepared to launch himself up again, but something was wrong; he couldn't fly!

Ken glanced at the circle of light around Di Roy's feet, and then at Ichigo. "Did you do that?"

"I thought that was you," Ichigo admitted.

"What the hell is this!?" Di Roy demanded, his eye widening when ice began to spread over his feet.

"That would be me." Everyone turned their heads to see Rukia calmly striding towards them. Her Zanpakutou was drawn, and it was activated; it looked like a normal katana, save for the long ribbon that sprang from the bottom of the hilt, and the fact that every inch of it was white as fresh snow.

"What you are experiencing is the power of my Zanpakutou, Sode no Shirayuki," Rukia continued. "Everything in that circle will become frozen solid."

_Yikes, _Ken thought, _it's Killer Frost, sword edition._

Di Roy scoffed; with a tug, he broke free of the ice and flew straight up. "That's all you can do? Freeze that little circle on the ground? Big deal! As long as I'm up here, you're useless!"

Rukia didn't seem upset; in fact, she almost looked bored. "I never said that my power was limited to the ground, did I?" The light emitted from the circle brightened, to the point that there was a column of light in the night sky, and Di Roy was still in that light. "I said that anything within that circle would be frozen solid." She pointed her sword at Di Roy. "Some no Mai, Tsukishiro!"

Di Roy barely had time to scream before the entire pillar of light became a pillar of ice. A moment later, the ice cracked and shattered, along with Di Roy.

Ichigo made a surprised noise, but Ken actually flinched. He knew, from the moment Paradox had said that he was entering a war, that there might be deaths. Even so, he had always been trained not to cross that line, no matter how much he might want to; if he did, he might not be able to stop. He might not have been comfortable with someone else killing others, but that was their choice, and this was a different universe. He had no right to complain; he just hoped that no one asked him to do the same.

"Are you two all right?" Rukia asked, turning away from the crumbling ice.

"We're good," Ken said, doing his best to hide his discomfort as he changed the subject. "Is that your gigai?"

Rukia glanced over her shoulder as her doppelganger, still dressed in a school uniform, launched at Ichigo playfully. For his part, Ichigo was either taken completely by surprise, or the gigai was much stronger than it looked, because Ichigo was soon pinned to the ground.

"Oh, that's Chappy, the mod-soul I use when I'm out of the gigai," Rukia explained, then proceeded to completely ignore an angry Ichigo. "I saw Chad running towards Orihime's house. Was something wrong?"

Ken shook his head. "Nah, but all Orihime had for protection was Lieutenant Matsumoto's gigai." He glanced at Ichigo, who was still trying to pry the gigai, Chappy, off of him. "Unless they're all freakishly strong, I thought it would be a good idea."

"I was just surprised!" Ichigo protested, finally heaving Chappy away, though it—she?—landed nimbly.

Ken snorted, and Rukia looked amused for a moment, before she turned serious again. "There were six Arrancars that arrived here; all of them have been located and engaged, except for one."

Suddenly, it felt like the gravity had increased by several magnitudes; Ken nearly fell to the knees before he adjusted to it, and he noticed that Ichigo was also regaining his footing. Rukia, however, looked like she could barely stand. This, Ken realized, was spiritual pressure being unleashed.

"You were looking for me, Soul Reapers!?" Far above them, another Arrancar appeared. Like Di Roy, his clothes were white, but instead of a robe, he wore baggy pants, an open coat that exposed his muscular torso and the hole in the center of his chest. At his side was a katana, but from the way his hands were shoved into his pockets, he didn't seem interested in drawing it. His eyes were wild and fierce, and a jawbone-like object was stuck to one side of his face.

Despite all of his other traits, the one thing that stuck out most for Ken was that the newcomer's hair was bright blue. For some reason, that almost made him laugh; it reminded him of when, during a bit of downtime at the Cave not long ago, Miss Martian had amused everyone else by taking on outrageous features. When she had turned her hair blue, Ken had burst out laughing for several minutes. No one was sure why; they eventually decided that it was an irrational thing, like Superboy's hatred for monkeys.

After that brief instant of hilarity, Ken became serious again; whoever this guy was, funny hair or not, he was far more dangerous than Di Roy.

"So…" the Arrancar said, looking over the three of them, "which of you is strongest?"

Rukia, eyes wide, turned to Ichigo. "Run, Ichigo!"

Then, in a move that reminded Ken of the Soul Reapers' Flash Step, the Arrancar was right in front of Rukia. Ken didn't hesitate; in one of his fastest displays of speed, he put himself between the Rukia and the Arrancar, just in time to get a hand smashed into his chest. From the way the Arrancar had straightened his fingers, he had planned to stab Rukia through the chest, _with his arm_!

Without bracing for the impact, Ken was sent flying back from the blow, slamming into Rukia and crashing on the other side of the street. Ken grimaced at the pain in his chest, but stood back up.

"What the hell!?" the Arrancar shouted; he was clutching the hand he'd used to attack, teeth gritted in pain.

"I have to admit," Ken said, rubbing his chest, "that actually hurt. I'll definitely have a nasty bruise there. You, on the other hand… how many fingers did you just break? Two, or three? I couldn't tell." He glanced back at Rukia, who was fighting to stand. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Rukia said; she was lying, this guy was out of her league, and they all knew it. "Be careful, he's very strong."

"I don't know, he just broke his fingers when hitting me," Ken joked. "He can't be that tough."

Judging by the almost feral snarl on the Arrancar's face, Ken figured that he was right—this was someone who lost control when he got too angry. And an enemy that lost control could easily lose the battle.

"You should learn to channel that anger," Ken mocked. "Trust me, it did wonders for my cousin."

"Shut up!" The Arrancar flew at Ken again, swinging his leg around at his head.

Ken was ready this time, and brought his arms up to block the hit; he still grunted from the impact, and he was forced back a few feet, but this time, he was ready to counter. Even better, he wasn't alone.

"Don't forget about me!" Ichigo shouted, then pointed his sword straight ahead. "Bankai!"

There was a massive burst of spiritual pressure—at least, that was what Ken assumed it was, since Urahara hadn't actually given him a demonstration—as black, red-edged energy arced around Ichigo. When it faded, he was wearing the same outfit that Ken had seen the first time, and his sword had become that black katana as well.

Ichigo dashed forward, not even using Flash Step, but still moving at an impressive speed. He swung his sword into the Arrancar's side, but, surprisingly, it did little more than scratch him. The Arrancar sent him tumbling to the ground with a vicious backhand.

"Don't tell me that's all you've got, runt!" the Arrancar laughed. "I can't believe Lord Aizen is actually interested in you two!"

"Yeah? Well, you can tell Aizen that I am _not _interested in him!" Ken grabbed the Arrancar's arm. "I mean, really, that's just creepy!"

The Arrancar braced himself, clearly expecting a punch or kick. Ken did neither; instead, he hit the Arrancar with as much electricity as he could generate. Arrancars and Soul Reapers might have been far tougher than a normal Human, but they still had a sense of touch, which meant that they had a nervous system. And _that _meant that enough electricity could mess them up, or at least hurt them.

Sure enough, the Arrancar jerked back, finally pulling out of Ken's grip. He was still standing, but there were enough minute twitches to tell Ken that he had done _something_.

"I don't care if Lord Aizen wants to study you, freak," the Arrancar spat. "I'm gonna make sure you never see tomorrow!"

Ken cracked his knuckles and grinned. "There are a lot of people out there who could kill me," he admitted. "But I _know _that one of them won't be some punk with a bad dye-job." He nodded at Ichigo, who was now standing. "Ready to rock?"

Ichigo briefly hesitated, and for just a moment, Ken thought he saw _something_ flicker in his eyes. "Yeah, let's take him down!"

Ken wasn't sure how much damage it would do, but he blocked the Arrancar's vision with jets of fire from his hands. That gave Ichigo the opening he needed to move in and slash his sword across the Arrancar's leg; this time, the blow drew a little blood, but Ichigo was forced to jump back when he was almost impaled the same way that Rukia nearly had been. The Arrancar swung his arm with enough force to clear away the fire.

"You think that's gonna hurt me?" He sneered. "You're gonna have to do better than that!"

Ken gritted his teeth; the fire from Heatblast was intense, but it seemed to be useless against this guy! He needed something stronger than that! With a snarl, Ken aimed his hand at the Arrancar again, but when he reached for his power, something changed; instead of fire or lightning or Mana, a beam of orange-red energy lanced out, clipping the Arrancar's shoulder.

This time, the Arrancar yelled in pain. "What the hell was that, you piece of—"

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo swung his sword in a wide arc, firing a wave of black-and-red energy that crashed into the Arrancar and sent him flying into the air. He was able to stabilize himself in midair, but now his other shoulder was injured.

Ken, meanwhile, was trying to figure out what he had just done. He knew that it was a new power, but he wasn't sure which of Ben's aliens he had tapped into. He took a moment to mentally review the aliens that he'd seen Ben turn into, and then he found it; as far as he knew, only one alien had powers like that, and with that color.

_Yes! _Ken cheered in his head. _I was hoping for something good, and I got NRG's power! Awesome!_

"We need to end this," Ichigo said wearily; Ken noticed that he was panting heavily. "I think I've got one more left in me."

"Then we've got to make it count," Ken said. "I'll hold him still; when I tell you, hit him with everything you've got, no matter what."

Ichigo looked at him; it was clear that he was worried about hurting Ken. "Are you sure?"

Ken grinned. "Trust me." Without a backwards glance, he shot a burst of fire from his feet and rose up to the Arrancar's level. "How 'bout one more round, dye-job?"

Surprisingly, the Arrancar looked pleased. "Since you're starting to make this fun, why not?" He aimed the hand with unbroken fingers at Ken. "Take this!"

A blue ball of energy gathered in his hand, then turned into a giant beam, similar to what Yammy had used. Ken simply flew against the beam when it hit, and after a few second, absorbed it. When he was done, he couldn't resist laughing at the Arrancar's shocked expression.

"Thank you," he said, "that was just what I needed."

With the massive boost in power, Ken launched himself at the Arrancar, slugged him across the jaw, then held his arms behind his back with his enhanced strength. Of course, thanks to the Arrancar's ability to fly, there was every chance that Ichigo's attack would miss, so Ken had to at least stun him.

"Wanna hear a secret?" he said quietly into the Arrancar's ear, then let loose with a sonic howl. As soon as the sound faded, he looked down at Ichigo. "NOW!"

"Getsuga…" more energy than before gathered around Ichigo's sword. "TENSHOU!"

The massive blast hit the Arrancar across the chest, as well as Ken's arms. Thankfully for Ken, he was able to absorb the energy that hit him, but the Arrancar wasn't so lucky; when the attack faded, there was a wide, jagged wound across his torso, but he was still alive.

"Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll offer you a deal," Ken growled. "Give up now, and I'll do my best to keep those Soul Reapers from killing you."

"You… you think I'd give up!?" The Arrancar kicked backwards into Ken's gut, freeing himself; to everyone surprise, the Arrancar started laughing. "This just got _fun_! Why would I stop now?"

_Oh, great, _Ken thought, _he's insane._

"That's enough, Grimmjow," a soft voice said, and the Arrancar froze; behind him was a tall, dark-skinned man, wearing a white outfit and an opaque visor across his eyes. His hand rested on the hilt of a katana at his side.

"Tōsen," the Arrancar—Grimmjow—snarled, his voice full of hate. "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same thing," the other man, Tōsen, said with calm disdain. "You came to the World of the Living without permission from Lord Aizen, and now, all of your men are dead. I am to bring you back. _Now_."

For someone who had been so eager to fight, Grimmjow was surprisingly willing to obey Tōsen's command. Tōsen opened a hole in thin air, just like what Ulquiorra had done, and stepped through; Grimmjow was about to do the same, but he turned at the last second to look at Ichigo and Ken, who had landed next to him.

"Just you wait, kids!" Grimmjow roared. "The next time we meet, I'm gonna _murder _you!" He turned around and lifted his jacket, allowing Ken and Ichigo to see a large number 6 tattooed on his back. "Remember Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez, the Sixth Espada, the man who's gonna kill you all!"

A moment later, the hole closed, and the town was quiet once again.

"He says he's going to kill us, but _he's _the one running away." Ken huffed. "Dang it! I wish I'd said that while he was still here; that guy got riled up _way _too easily." He raised an eyebrow when Ichigo sat down heavily. "Dude, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," Ichigo muttered. "I failed."

Ken blinked, then shared a confused look with Rukia, who had joined them. "You're going to have to explain that one to me. The bad guys ran away, and everyone on our side is okay." Ken stopped and turned to Rukia again. "Everyone on our side _is _okay, right?"

"More or less." All three of them turned to see Renji, exhausted and bloody, walk over to them; Secret was with him, though she didn't have a mark on her. "Most of us are injured, but Orihime is taking care of the worst of it."

"There, you see?" Ken said, then sat next to Ichigo. "Tell me how you failed."

"I couldn't beat any of them by myself, and people got hurt." Ichigo was about to say more, but Ken's eyes glowed green, and a band of Mana slapped across Ichigo's mouth, cutting him off.

"All right, the pity-party ends here," Ken said sternly. "I've got news for you, Ichigo: nobody can do it alone. I know people who can literally destroy planets—heck, I'm _related _to a lot of them—who still need backup. If I didn't have a team to help me, I'd be _dead_ a few times over." Everyone, even Ichigo, stared at him when he made that last comment. "By the way, those people who can kill planets? They've been doing this kind of thing for _decades_. How long have you been at this?"

"Less than six months," Rukia piped up.

"Thank you," Ken said, nodding at her before returning his attention to Ichigo. "Honestly, you have _nothing _to complain about. You didn't die, the bad guys ran away, and no one was permanently hurt. Back home, if something like that happened, my friends and I would throw a freaking _party_." He snapped his fingers, and the Mana on Ichigo's face vanished. "So stop feeling sorry for yourself. If you don't want this kind of thing to happen, then get better; just remember that you've got people who will have your back." Ken put his hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "Just because you _can _hold the weight of the world on your shoulders doesn't mean you have to do it alone."

With a final pat on Ichigo's shoulder, Ken stood up and walked over to Secret; she was smiling, but Ken couldn't figure out why, and Secret shook her head before he could ask.

Renji smirked. "You're pretty wise, for a kid."

Ken shrugged. "I hang out with pretty wise people." Especially both of the Marvels, what with their Wisdom of Solomon.

"Still, if this is what we have to look forward to, we're all going to have to get stronger," Rukia said grimly, then turned a kinder smile towards Ichigo. "You don't have to do all the work, you know."

Ichigo didn't answer, but he did nod absently; maybe he was taking their words into consideration.

"Well, training can wait until after tomorrow," Ken said casually. "I think we all earned a break after tonight, and I _do _owe you guys a story or two."

**All right, this one's done! Hey, Bigby, what'd you think?**

**Bigby: I liked it! I'm glad that Ken can still be hurt by the people in this universe, even if it takes a lot to **_**really **_**hurt him.**

**TIM: He's the son of Ben 10 and **_**Supergirl**_**. What did you expect?**

**Bigby: Point taken. Also, I'm liking the new power Ken got, but isn't NRG a little OP?**

**TIM: Dude, I gave Jen Way Big's cosmic ray thingy in Part 1. NRG's power is small potatoes in comparison.**

**Bigby: … Okay, I'll give you that. Anyway, what's next?**

**Next Chapter: Story Time! Also, Ken and Ichigo make a few new friends.**

**Bigby: I was just asking, you didn't need to go full-on preview on me.**

**TIM: Do you want to help me with the quote or not?**

**Bigby: Wait, really? Cool!**

**We are the Muffin Gems! We'll always save the day! And if you think we can't, we'll always find a way! That's why the people of this world believe in Bigby the Big Bad Wolf, and his friend, The Muffin!**


	12. Ultimate Heroes, Part 3

**BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. JUST TO BE SAFE, BLEACH DOESN'T BELONG TO ME, THOUGH I DO LIKE NOT HAVING STAINS IN MY CLOTHES.**

**All right, back to this one! Now, where was I?**

**Bigby: Getting back to work, that's what!**

**TIM: Yes, sir!**

Unlimited Justice, Part 2

Chapter 12

Ultimate Heroes, Part 3

**Karakura Town**

As Ken saw the aftermath of the battle, he grimaced. "If this is what victory looks like, I'd hate to see a defeat."

Urahara nodded. "Indeed. Then again, it could have been much worse."

Ken did his best not to imagine that. The Soul Reapers were all a mess; the only one not injured was Yumichika, while the rest ranged from having concussions to broken bones and massive blood-loss. The only upside was that Orihime's incredible healing powers would have them all back on their feet in a day or so.

"I had to use more of my abilities in that fight," Ken said; when talking to Urahara like this, it felt like he was reporting to Batman. "I wouldn't be surprised if Aizen knows about them already."

"I'm actually hoping that he devotes more time to you," Urahara admitted. "The more he plans to counter an unknown factor, like you, the less time he'll have to focus on the rest of us."

"Not sure how much I like being the distraction," Ken muttered.

Urahara only smiled.

"Hey," Ken said, looking around, "where's Ichigo? He was just here."

"I believe that he's… considering his options." Urahara's smile never wavered, despite his cryptic tone. "I'm sure he'll be back before he makes any decisions; he might not show it, but I think he wants to hear some of those stories you promised."

Ken nodded. "And considering that some of these guys aren't in any shape to move, they'll want something to keep them occupied. But I think we should wait a few minutes, so that Ichigo doesn't miss anything."

Sure enough, Ichigo did come back; he looked less upset than before, but he did seem thoughtful. Ken made a note to check on him later.

"So, everyone comfy?" Ken asked, and received dirty looks from the most injured of the group, since they could barely move. "All right, what do you guys want to know?"

Orihime's hand shot up into the air. "Ooh! Tell us about the superheroes in your universe!"

Ken grinned. "Sure thing." He waited until everyone settled down before speaking again. "First of all, there are basically two teams of superheroes on my Earth—there's the Justice League, and my team. We're just called the Team."

"Why?" Ikkaku asked.

"I'll get to that." Ken gave him a look that told him not to interrupt again. "Anyway, some other teams pop up now and again, but they're usually just members of the League who strike out on their own for a while, and then join back up. It hasn't happened in a long time, though.

"The Justice League was formed over twenty years ago by seven members." Ken paused to consider something. "For the sake of security, I can't tell you anyone's real name, just the name they use when they're on the job. Anyway, the seven members were Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, the Flash, and the Martian Manhunter.

"It actually started over a thousand years ago, on Mars." Ken grinned at the synchronized blinking he received, but then sobered. "You see, Mars was invaded by these other aliens, the White Parasites. They destroyed the native Martians, and stole their powers. The last members of the resistance used a nerve toxin to paralyze and seal the Parasites away, but only one was left alive." There were varying expressions of sadness, but some of the Soul Reapers looked a little impressed; Ken hoped that J'onn would appreciate the sentiment. "That Martian stood guard for a thousand years, but couldn't stop Human astronauts from accidentally waking the Parasites up. I'm going to speed up a bit and just say that the Martian was captured, the astronauts were killed and replaced by the shapeshifting Parasites. They infiltrated Earth, and prepared the way for an invasion. Earth's militaries weren't able to do squat, honestly; if the superheroes hadn't been around, the planet would have been taken in days.

"The seven founding members of the League all found each other; they were led to the Parasites by different means, but they all wanted to do the same thing: stop the invasion and save the world. They tried to fight the invaders head-on, and that didn't work. Batman suggested that they look for the aliens' weakness, but it's kind of hard to hide what you're doing from a race that can read minds."

"Seriously?" Ken was a little annoyed at Renji for interrupting him, but didn't stop him. "They can shapeshift _and _read minds? What can't they do?"

"They also had super-strength, and the neurotoxin that the Martian Manhunter used the last time was destroyed," Ken added wryly. "But I'm getting there. Batman was wondering why the aliens were using towers to create clouds that blocked out all sunlight, but he needed time to investigate. Batman actually faked his death, while the Martian mentally shielded him from detection. After a while, he found out why the Parasites were doing all that: they had no resistance to Earth's ultraviolet radiation. Think of a sunburn, but it fries you into a crispy puddle."

"That's dumb," Rukia commented. "Why would they try to invade a planet that could so easily kill them?"

Ken shrugged. "It was all they knew, I guess. They were better conquerors than anything else." He went on with the story. "Anyway, the rest of the League got captured, and Batman waited until the Parasites' leader, the Imperium, arrived, and then found the crystal-computer thing that controlled the tower the League was trapped in. He reversed the ion charge of the crystal, and the tower cleared away the clouds, instead of making more."

Now it was Urahara who interrupted. "How did he reverse it?"

Ken opened his mouth to answer, then stopped. "I… don't know, actually. I mean… he's Batman."

Urahara sulked. "That's not an excuse."

Ken ignored him. "Well, the League broke free, destroyed the Imperium, and gave the rest of the Parasites the worst tan ever. After that, they helped the rest of the world beat the last of the Parasites. Batman then built the first Watchtower, a space station that monitored Earth for other threats, and they officially formed the Justice League." Then he thought of something funny. "Oh, by the way: Batman, the guy who did all that stuff to stop the Parasites? Yeah, he's the only founding member of the League with no powers. At all. He's an ordinary Human."

There was a moment of silence, followed by dropped jaws, as the group absorbed that.

"Sounds impressive," Ikkaku admitted. "What happened after that?"

"Well, the League fought supervillains, monsters, and all kinds of other stuff." Ken smirked. "Heck, some of those threats couldn't even be faced with the entire League every time. But they saved the world more times than I can count. And that was _before _they expanded; now, the League has dozens of heroes, and I'm pretty sure each one has saved the planet at least once. Everything from government conspiracies to an invasion by _gods_, they handled."

Ken knew that he had skipped over a lot, including why the League expanded in the first place, and how his father ended up joining. But going into the Thanagarian invasion wasn't fair to Hawkwoman, and it wasn't his place to explain his father's painful past from just before that point.

"Gods?" Ichigo looked skeptical. "How did they beat that?"

Ken gave him a pointed look. "By working together. That was why the League was formed: to deal with the threats that no one could handle alone."

Ichigo scowled, but didn't say anything.

Rangiku, now fully healed and sitting up, had her own question. "Where does your team come into this?"

"It started about six months ago," Ken said, gathering his thoughts. "See, some of my friends and I had been the protégés of heroes—our mentors—for a while, and they decided it was time that we could join the Justice League."

"Protégés?" Renji grinned. "You mean you were a _sidekick_, right?"

Ken smiled, while his eyes glowed green; a moment later, a band of Mana slapped across Renji's mouth.

"A bit of advice," Ken warned, "don't call us sidekicks. Anyway, we were all ready to fight alongside the League, but… well, they didn't think we were ready. We were annoyed about that, but we overheard Batman wanting to investigate a genetics lab called Genesis. When the League went out to stop the sun from getting extinguished—" Ken rolled his eyes at the startled reactions. "Yeah, that almost happened. Moving on. Anyway, my friends—Robin, Kid Flash, and Warhawk—went to investigate Genesis on our own.

"We found quite a bit. A part-time member of the League, Guardian, was being mind-controlled, and Genesis was creating an army of living weapons, called Genomorphs. The deeper we went, the more we found, but the biggest surprise was near the bottom. There was a clone of my uncle, Superman; he was called Superboy, and he was created to either replace Superman if he died, or kill him if he became a threat." Ken scowled at the memory. "It wasn't the first time that someone made a Kryptonian clone, but I hope it's the last."

"Breeding weapons…" Urahara tapped his chin. "The similarities to Aizen are disturbing, to say the least. I'm positive that he's turning Hollows into Arrancars."

"Huh. Didn't think of that." Ken shook his head. "Anyway, we thought we could set Superboy free, instead of being a slave, but Genesis woke him up before we did, and… well, he beat the snot out of us." While everyone looked startled, Ken tried not to think about how he hadn't wanted to fight, while Conner hadn't held back at all. "We got knocked out, and almost cloned; the clones would have infiltrated the League as sleeper agents."

Ken smiled as the memories became more positive. "Thankfully, Superboy decided he didn't want to be a weapon, and saved us. We fought our way out, through a monster called Blockbuster that used to be a scientist, and, uh…" Ken laughed sheepishly. "Well, we dropped the building on top of us."

"Sounds painful," Hitsugaya said.

"Eh, not for me." Ken grinned. "Wouldn't be the last time a building collapsed on top of me."

"Secret." Everyone jumped; they hadn't realized the Secret was in the room.

Ken recovered fastest. "Yeah, I know, that night sucked for everyone involved." He spotted the confused and curious looks from everyone else. "Sorry, that one's not my place to talk about."

That got grumbles, but after a warning look from Secret, they quieted down.

"Anyway, after we got out of Genesis, the League showed up." Ken smiled at the memory. "They tried to lecture us, but we basically told them that we were our own team now. The League helped us get on our feet, and now a lot of our missions are ones we give ourselves."

"What, that's it?" Ichigo crossed his arms. "That seems too easy."

"Well, it was either they helped us, or they could get out of the way." Ken chuckled. "We really didn't give them much choice."

Ken spent several more hours talking about a few of the missions that the Team had gone on that he was comfortable discussing. He avoided the Injustice League, for instance, because he didn't want to relive what happened to Batgirl. He did the same thing for the mission that had Zatanna becoming possessed by Doctor Fate. Some of the more lighthearted events, like when the Team met Starfire, or when they rescued Red Tornado from Red Volcano, were enjoyed by the others.

By the time he was done, the Soul Reapers and their allies realized that Orihime had finished healing them, but they were having too much fun listening to Ken's stories. They only stopped when they realized that it was almost three in the morning, and the Humans among them were getting too tired. Reluctantly, they all decided to get some sleep, and parted ways. Chad and Orihime were escorted home by Soul Reapers who would stay with them for the rest of the night.

Ichigo, however, lingered behind. "Hey, Ken? Can I talk to you for a second?"

Ken glanced at Secret, who nodded at him. "Sure. What's up?"

After taking a deep breath, Ichigo looked him in the eye. "I'd like your help with something." Ken said nothing, but gestured for him to continue. "A little while ago, I met a guy named Shinji; he said he could help me with a… a problem that I have. He's strong, and I think he could help me get stronger."

Ken raised an eyebrow. "Wait, let me guess: you don't trust him."

"Not at all." Ichigo scowled. "The guy's a jerk, and I've talked to him twice. He also said that he wasn't alone. I'd, uh…" he sighed. "I'd appreciate it if you came with me to meet him, just in case."

Ken was surprised; he had pegged Ichigo as a 'go it alone' kind of guy, and that it would take a while for that to change. Maybe his words were having a greater effect than he'd thought.

"Sure thing," he said. "Do you know where to go?"

"Yeah." Ichigo looked relieved, and also a little surprise that Ken had agreed. "I'll meet you back here tomorrow, and we'll go."

Ken glanced at the clock on the wall. "Don't you mean 'later today'? It's technically morning."

Ichigo tried to scowl, but yawned instead. He quickly headed home after that, leaving Ken alone with Secret.

"Would he be in trouble if I didn't go with him?" he asked.

Secret shook her head. "Secret."

"So I'm, what, extra insurance?"

"Secret."

Ken sighed. "It's nice to know I'm loved."

Secret giggled, then floated up so that she could mime patting Ken on the head. With a scowl highly reminiscent of Ichigo's, Ken walked off, with the excuse that even he needed sleep; in reality, it was because he knew he wouldn't get the last word in.

…

It was in the late hours of the morning that Ichigo returned to Urahara's shop, where Ken was waiting. The two quickly left before Urahara or anyone else saw them off; Ichigo walked stiffly, as if he was expecting trouble at any second, while Ken kept the hood of his borrowed hoodie low over his face.

"You said that this Shinji guy was strong," Ken said quietly. "How strong are we talking?"

"He didn't even release his Zanpakutou, and I still knew he was stronger than me," Ichigo replied. "But he did put on his mask."

Ken blinked. "Mask? What mask?"

Ichigo grimaced. "He summoned this mask, kind of like a Hollow's, and it made him a lot stronger. I… have something like that, but I can't control myself when it happens."

Ken had a feeling that he was missing a few details, but didn't press; it was obvious that Ichigo was uncomfortable revealing what he already had. "And this guy offered to help teach you?"

"I think so." Ichigo gave him a look. "You're taking this well."

"Dude, I'm half-alien, my cousin is a clone, and one of my best friends has _wings_. Ghosts and weird masks barely register on the radar anymore." Ken frowned. "Still, I can't believe that you were considering going off to meet a bunch of strangers by yourself. That's just dumb."

"I asked you to come with me, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but what if I wasn't around?"

Ichigo only scowled; Ken noted that he tended to do that when he didn't have a good answer to a question.

After a few more minutes of walking, they stopped outside what looked like an old warehouse. There was no one else around, but Ken was still suspicious. He stopped Ichigo before he reached down to push up the door.

"Hang on a second," he said, "let me check it out first."

Ken scanned the building with his X-ray vision and immediately noticed that something was off. There was something partially blocking his vision; he could see vague shapes inside, but no details. Still, whoever was inside didn't appear hostile; they were just waiting.

"Okay, let's go," he said quietly, "but be careful."

Ichigo nodded, then hauled open the door and the two walked in. Ken stayed a few steps behind; far enough to make it clear that Ichigo was taking the lead, but close enough to act if he had to.

Waiting for them were eight people; even if Ken hadn't known about Soul Reapers and Hollows, they would have been strange. At the center of the group was a skinny blonde-haired man who wore black pants, an orange shirt, a tie, and a paperboy hat. There was a short blonde girl with spiky pigtails who wore a red tracksuit and sandals and had a katana slung over her back. Another girl, taller and curvier, wore a schoolgirl outfit that was clearly too small for her; she had glasses and had her hair in a braid. The last girl of the group wore a white bodysuit, and goggles on top of her green hair. Near her was a muscular man with combat fatigues and boots, who stared down at the newcomers with his arms crossed. There was another man with a fancy suit, aristocratic features, and long, wavy blonde hair. Next to him was another man; he wore a green tracksuit and sunglasses, and his hair was shaped kind of like a star. Lastly, there was a very large man in a green suit, with pink hair and mustache.

It was certainly a colorful group, Ken noted, even discounting their hair. _Pink hair? Really?_

"Well, Ichigo, it seems ya made your way here." The man in the hat grinned widely. "And ya brought a friend. I thought ya were here ta accept our offer. Don't ya trust us?"

Ken gave his best disarming smile. "Oh, don't mind me. I'm just the insurance."

Clearly, the man didn't buy it, but settled for focusing on Ichigo. "But ya _are _here to join us, right? I mean, that's why you're here."

To everyone's surprise, Ichigo smirked. "Bite me!"

"I'm not here to join you; I'm not that desperate," Ichigo continued bluntly. "I'm here to _use _you, Shinji. You're going to show me how to control the Hollow inside of me. After that, I'm outta here."

Ken was torn between wanting to facepalm, and smacking Ichigo upside the head. Did he have no subtlety at all!?

"Is that so?" The man, Shinji, looked unimpressed. "Ya must think we're a bunch of pushovers."

"I'll make you teach me," Ichigo growled.

"Oh, yeah?" Ken could see Shinji minutely tense. "How are ya gonna do that?"

Ichigo grinned. "I guess I'll beat it out of you."

With that, Ichigo reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge with a stylized skull on it; a moment later, his Soul Reaper form emerged from his Human body, which Ken only barely caught before it hit the ground.

"Dude, what the heck are you doing!?" Ken demanded, but Ichigo was already flying towards Shinji.

In an impressive display, Shinji flipped his sword up with his foot, caught it, and drew it from its sheath in one quick motion. He and Ichigo began swinging at each other, neither able to score a hit, but it was clear that both of them were holding back.

Ken glanced at the rest of the group, who had gathered nearby. "Um, are we going to fight?"

They ignored him, and whispered amongst themselves. After a minute, the short blonde girl stepped forward.

"Hiyori, what are you doing?" the green-haired girl asked.

"Hachi!" the blonde, Hiyori, barked, ignoring the girl. "Add on another five layers to the barrier."

The large pink-haired man started, but before he could say anything, Hiyori took off one of her sandals and flew towards the fighting.

"SHINJI!" She roared, slapping him in the face with her sandal. "TAG OUT!"

Shinji, taken by surprise, was hit with enough force to send him flying through the window, much to everyone's surprise. Ken noticed the big man, Hachi, clap his hands together; a moment later, an orange rectangle surrounded both Ichigo and Hiyori. The two of them were talking, but the barrier somehow distorted Ken's super-hearing.

Then Hiyori's spiritual pressure ramped up, and a demonic-looking mask with a single horn appeared on her face; a moment later, she attacked. Unlike Shinji, it was obvious that Hiyori was aiming to kill, or at least badly hurt.

That decided it for Ken; he jumped into the air and turned intangible just before he touched the barrier. When he passed through, he landed on a platform of Mana and deflected Hiyori's sword with his arm.

"_Hey!" _Hiyori's voice was distorted and full of malice. _"What's the big idea, kid!?"_

"Um, you were trying to kill the guy," Ken pointed out as he rubbed his sore arm, then gave Ichigo a dark look. "And you are an idiot."

Ichigo huffed, and said nothing.

"_For your sake, you'd better get out of the way," _Hiyori growled, then slashed at Ken's face.

Just before the blade connected, Ken opened his mouth and let out a sonic howl. The roar sent Hiyori flying back into the barrier, but before she could recover, Ken blasted her with lightning. Hiyori tried to block it with her sword, but the metal weapon only made it worse.

"Now, are we going to talk about this like intelligent people, or are we going to keep fighting?" Ken gave Ichigo another pointed look. "Because, honestly, this is really stupid. And pointless. And did I mention stupid?"

Hiyori only growled, then vanished, only to reappear behind Ken; he turned, but before he could do anything, Ichigo was there, doing his best to block Hiyori's sword with his own. However, Hiyori was much, _much _stronger than Ichigo with her mask on, and her sword not only took a chunk out of Ichigo's she also left a nasty gash on his chest.

_Okay, now I'm annoyed. _Ken jumped off his platform and kicked Hiyori the chest; this time, he used a lot more strength than he normally did, and the result was dramatic. Hiyori was sent hurtling through the barrier and into the far wall of the warehouse. She wasn't knocked out, or even close to being done, but she was clearly surprised, and maybe even a little scared.

"You know, Ichigo," Ken said casually as he landed on the floor, "I think we can at least be sure that these guys aren't with Aizen. I mean, the Arrancars at least knew about me, but these guys don't."

Ichigo was breathing heavily from the pain, but he nodded. "Yeah, I kinda figured."

"You okay?"

"I've had worse."

"I wouldn't brag about that." Ken frowned. "What's up with your eye?"

Ichigo's left eye had turned black, while the pupil had turned yellow. His hand went over it, and after a few seconds, he relaxed, and his eye returned to normal.

"The Hollow tried taking over," he muttered, not looking Ken in the eye.

"So much for that plan." Ken and Ichigo turned to see that Shinji had returned; his sword was sheathed and he looked almost bored. "Thanks for messing that up, kid."

Ken looked at Shinji, then at the rest of his group, his enhanced mind quickly working it out. "You _wanted _Ichigo's Hollow to take over, didn't you?"

Shinji smiled, while Ichigo blinked. "Yep, that's what we wanted. The plan was for Ichigo to lose control and see just why he needed to learn." His smile turned a bit evil. "And it was kinda fun to mess with him."

Ichigo scowled, but Ken spoke first. "Okay, so you're going to teach him?"

"Yeah." Shinji looked over at Ichigo. "We should probably get the kid fixed up first."

Ken nodded, then realized the rest of the group was staring at him. "Um, hi? I guess introductions are in order."

…

While Ichigo was fixed up and his training was worked out, Ken got to know more about these strange people. They introduced themselves as Visored, a group of Soul Reapers that had acquired Hollow powers and existed outside of Soul Society. Ken noticed that they were being vague about how they got the powers of Hollows and why they wanted nothing to do with Soul Reapers, but he had a feeling that it was a sore subject, so he didn't press.

Ken also introduced himself. Some of the Visored were more restrained in their reactions, but finding out that he was an alien superhero from another universe clearly surprised them. The only one who didn't let any sort of reaction out was Shinji; if anything, he looked amused by the whole thing, but Ken suspected he kept that expression for almost everything.

"So, Ken, what's your universe like?" The green-haired girl, named Mashiro, was the most enthusiastic about meeting Ken.

Ken shrugged. "Not too different from this one, actually; I've noticed that some cities and countries don't exist, though." He paused. "Actually, you don't have a lot of cities. No Gotham, Metropolis, Central City, Star City… it's a little weird for me. Then again, we don't have Soul Reapers and Hollows. We've got ghosts, though; I've met a couple."

"And you've got superheroes," the grey-haired man, Kensei, pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but someone has to step up when crazy people attack cities in giant robots." Ken thought back to when the Team met Raven. "I had to deal with that a few months ago."

"How are you so calm about stuff like that?" Hiyori was still sour about how easily Ken had tossed her around, but at least she didn't try to attack him again.

"Because I grew up in a family of superheroes," Ken said. "I mean, I was learning how to use my powers almost from when I could walk." He grimaced. "I kinda had to, or else I might have accidentally ripped someone's arm off when I shook their hand."

Lisa, the girl with glasses, raised an eyebrow. "How much of your strength do you normally use?"

Ken thought about it. "In a fight? I don't know, maybe five percent against normal Humans; just enough to knock them out. Against someone tough, like, uh…" he glanced at Hiyori. "Well, like you guys, I have to ramp it up to about fifteen, maybe twenty percent."

"Oh, geez." Kensei actually looked scared. "We're looking at Mashiro if she had restraint."

"Hey!" Mashiro pouted at him. "I can show restraint! Don't be a jerk, Kensei!"

"No, you don't," both the star-haired man—named Love, of all things—and the blonde man, who asked to be called Rose, chorused.

Ken laughed; for a moment, he felt like he was back with the Team, teasing Kid Flash about something he did. The Visored were just as entertaining.

A loud squeak caught his attention, and he turned; to his surprise, Ichigo was using an old workout machine, of all things, and seemed extremely annoyed about the ordeal.

"I… what?" Ken looked at the Visored for answers.

Hachi, which was short for Hachigen, leaned in so that Ichigo wouldn't hear. "Part of the training involves exhausting Ichigo's spiritual energy. We can measure his reserves by seeing how long he can use that."

Ken blinked. "There _has _to be an easier way to do that."

"Maybe," Shinji said as he joined them, "but this way is more fun."

"He'll probably snap before he runs out of power," Ken commented.

Shinji only shrugged. "Then we'll do it the hard way. At least now we have some time ta plan." He raised an eyebrow at Ken. "And by 'we', I'm not including you. We know more about what's going on with the kid than ya do."

"I know the basics at this point," Ken said. "Ichigo has a Hollow inside him, and it's taking control. You guys are going to help him with that, and when he's done, he'll be more powerful. Do I have it right so far?"

"At least ya pay attention," Shinji muttered. "Look, Inner Hollows are worse than that. Ya have to struggle with 'em all the time, and they'll eat away at your sanity if ya don't keep 'em locked up."

"Sounds… yeah, I can't come up with a polite way of saying it. That sucks majorly." Ken glanced back at Ichigo, who was already looking more irritated. "How long have you guys been dealing with this?"

"A hundred years," Shinji said bitterly. "All thanks ta Aizen. He did this ta us, and the only reason we're helping Soul Society is 'cause we want payback."

With that, the Visored all walked off; clearly, just that brief summary was enough to dredge up painful memories. Ken took that as his cue to leave, since it didn't look like Ichigo was in danger anymore; after a quick goodbye and a promise to come back the next day, Ken left the Visored hideout.

…

Ken returned to Urahara's shop to find an argument going on. Chad and Orihime were obviously upset with Urahara, who only looked resigned. Actually, it looked more like Chad was arguing with Urahara, while Orihime wanted nothing to do with any of it.

"What's going on?" Ken asked. He might not have known Chad for very long, but he was pretty sure that the anger on his face was unusual.

"Kisuke told Orihime that she should stay away from the fighting," Chad growled, shooting Urahara a dirty look. "I think she has the right to fight if she wants to."

"Chad, it's all right!" Orihime's bright smile didn't fool anyone. "I'm not upset at all!"

"Sorry, Orihime, but you're a bad liar." Ken crossed his arms and looked at Urahara. "Why can't she help out?"

"Her only attack-based spirit was destroyed," Urahara explained. "She'd be a liability in combat."

Orihime flinched; behind her, Ken saw Secret frowning and nodding at him.

"She can heal," Ken pointed out.

"And she can create barriers," Chad added.

"But she can't—" Urahara began, but Ken cut him off.

"Fun fact about my universe: there are heroes with _no _powers at all, and they not only fight people who _do _have powers, but they also _win_." Ken thought about Seeker, Robin, and Artemis, and how they had saved most of the Team from Red Inferno and Red Torpedo. The idea that Urahara was excluding the girl because she wasn't a great fighter annoyed him. "All it takes is training, and if you're not going to help, then I will!"

Orihime blinked. "You will?"

Ken glanced at Secret, who was giving him a thumbs-up. "Yeah, I will; at the very least, I'll teach you how to keep yourself safe until someone else can help."

Orihime beamed. "Thank you!"

As Ken led her outside, he saw Chad nod in thanks, while Urahara pulled his hat further over his face.

…

It turned out that Orihime wasn't a bad fighter at all; she had been taught martial arts by a close friend from her school. She wasn't on Seeker's level, but she could definitely beat the average thug. The problem was that Orihime was a pacifist, and it took a lot to provoke her to violence. As much as it bothered Ken to teach a peaceful person to fight, it had to be done, or she would never be able to help in the field.

"You know, you don't have to hold back," Ken said, as Orihime threw a series of punches that he casually batted aside. "I mean, I literally don't think you _can _hurt me; I'm bulletproof."

"Sorry." Orihime ducked her head. "I want to help Ichigo and my friends, but I don't like fighting."

"That's fine," Ken said. "In fact, that's a good thing. You hate fighting, which makes you a good person. The thing that makes all the difference is your motivation. _Why _do you want to fight?"

Orihime bit her lip. "Well… my friends are putting themselves in harm's way. I _can _help them, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I sat back and did nothing."

"Then stop pulling your punches," Ken said sternly, then created a thin barrier of Mana. "Imagine this wall is the enemy. If you don't stop him, he's going to kill you. He's going to kill your friends, and he won't stop, unless you do something _right now_. So, what are you going to do?"

Orihime looked at him, then at the barrier. She drew back her fist, and punched with her whole body behind the blow; with the sound of breaking glass, the Mana shattered. Orihime looked at Ken, then down at her fist.

"I… I did it!" she jumped up and down. "All right!"

Ken was impressed; he had purposely made that barrier strong enough to give an ordinary Human a hard time breaking it. Orihime had done it with a single punch, and he had a feeling that she hadn't used her full strength.

"Okay, let's try sparring again," Ken said, raising his fists. "You wanna help your friends? Then I want to see you hit me at least ten times before the day is over."

Orihime nodded, resolve hardening her features. "Fine!"

…

The next morning, Ken woke up feeling pretty good about himself. Orihime had left their impromptu training session exhausted, but enthusiastic to continue; even better, she had more confidence in herself. Even if she wouldn't do much damage to an Arrancar, she wouldn't be helpless.

"Secret?" Ken saw that Secret was in his room again, tapping her wrist urgently.

"I need to be somewhere," Ken translated. Secret nodded. "Well, Orihime's training is in the afternoon, and I don't hear anything happening in town. Is it Ichigo?"

"Secret."

"All right, I'll head out now." Ken stretched for a moment, then dashed out of the shop in a blur of super-speed and intangibility. He reached the Visored hideout in less than three minutes, then simply walked through the wall, much to the surprise of Hiyori.

"Hey, we've got a door, dumbass!" The tiny blonde shook her fist in Ken's face. "You could have knocked!"

"Yeah, because knocking on the door to what looks like an abandoned building isn't suspicious at all," Ken said, then jumped over the fuming Hiyori and fell into the lower level of the warehouse, landing next to Shinji. "Good morning! What did I miss?"

Shinji, for his part, didn't even react to Ken's abrupt appearance. "Not much. Ichigo's still going on the stupid walker."

Ken almost laughed when he saw that, yes, Ichigo was exactly where he'd left him. "Did he even stop?"

"Nope." Shinji grinned a Cheshire cat grin. "I've got a bet going on that he'll snap before noon."

"Argh!" Ichigo growled in frustration and kicked the walker into a wall. "I can't take it anymore!"

"Man, you called it," Ken remarked, and shared a low-five with Shinji when Ichigo wasn't looking.

Ichigo then got into a shouting-match with Hiyori that quickly escalated to her slapping him with her sandal, tossing him into a lower level of the warehouse, and then throwing the exercise machine at his head.

"Look, I know what you're trying to do," Ichigo said, after he calmed down a little. "You want to measure my spiritual energy by seeing how long I can go on that stupid thing before I collapse. I'll tell you right now, it's pointless! I could go a whole week before getting tired! Just teach me how to suppress my Inner Hollow already! I don't have time for all this crap!"

Ken wasn't sure what he was more impressed by: that Ichigo had figured out what the Visored were doing, or that he'd been able to make all of his points while shouting.

"Is that right?" Shinji's smile had vanished, replaced by something more menacing. "Ya say ya don't 'have time for this crap'? Do ya even know what Aizen is doing with the Hougyoku?"

"How… how do you know about Aizen and the Hougyoku?" Ichigo stared in shock, but Ken felt lost. What was this Hougyoku? He figured that Shinji and the other Visored knew about Aizen because they had once been Soul Reapers, though it seemed that they hadn't shared that with Ichigo.

"That's a story for another day." Shinji was suddenly in front of Ichigo, an open palm inches from his face. "I thought it'd be a good idea ta start at the beginning, so you could get used to us. But, now that I think about it, ya can already turn inta a Soul Reaper, ya have a Shikai _and _a Bankai."

Ichigo was clearly unnerved, and Ken didn't blame him. Shinji was listing off information that Ichigo hadn't told him, which meant that he had either been spying on him, or someone else had told him.

"But maybe we _should _just jump straight ta helping ya suppress that Inner Hollow, like ya asked us ta do." Shinji's hand glowed. "Are ya ready?" Ichigo collapsed. "I hope ya don't regret it."

"That… was excessive," Ken said. "What are you going to do to him?"

"Like I said, we're gonna suppress his Hollow." Shinji glanced back up at the others. "Hachi, set up a barrier strong enough to hold him."

Hachi nodded and clapped his hands together. Ken heard a slight hum, and assumed that the barrier had been created. Then a section of the floor opened up, revealing a staircase. Love slung Ichigo over his shoulder, and then he and the other Visored headed down the stairs; wordlessly, Ken followed after them.

_There's no way they built this place with normal equipment, _Ken thought as they walked down a dark hallway, and then entered an area that looked exactly like Urahara's basement. _Hmmm… they know things about Ichigo that strangers shouldn't, and have a training area just like Urahara. Yeah, I'd bet money that he's working with them._

Ken made a note to have a 'chat' with the shopkeeper later, but set the matter aside when Love put Ichigo on the ground.

"Hachi, set up a barrier around Ichigo as well, and restrain his body," Shinji ordered.

"Whaaa?" Hachi gasped.

"Don't 'whaaa' me," Shinji snapped. "Just do it!"

Hachi clasped his hands together and began muttering an incantation. To Ken's ears, the phrases were nonsensical, but they apparently held power, because five enormous pillars appeared and pinned Ichigo in place, followed by a transparent orange box.

"All right, now what?" Ken asked.

Shinji smiled grimly. "Well, half the work is Ichigo's; he has ta fight his Inner Hollow inside his mindscape. If he wins, he'll get control. Until that happens, his body's gonna go berserk, and we'll have ta contain him."

Ken looked at the huge pillars on top of Ichigo; he wasn't sure how heavy they were, but even Ichigo's strength would have a hard time lifting them without any leverage. Suddenly, there was a huge influx of energy, and the pillars cracked and shattered.

_Never mind, _Ken thought, as Ichigo stood up. Half his face was covered by a white mask with red stripes, and his eyes were like Hiyori's had been when she'd used her mask.

"Like I said, Ichigo's body is gonna go nuts," Shinji called out over the sound of wild shrieks from Ichigo. "The plan is for each of us ta take ten-minute turns fighting him; if Ichigo can't get control before we've all fought… we're gonna have ta kill him."

Ken frowned. "Maybe I can buy Ichigo a little more time."

"How's that?" Kensei asked.

"Not to brag, but I've fought gods," Ken said. "I can go a lot longer than ten minutes, and if I have to tag out, you guys will still be fresh."

The Visored shared a look, and then Shinji shrugged. "I don't see why not, kid; no skin off my back. Hachi, let him in."

"No need." Ken grinned, then simply walked through the barrier. "I love that power."

"Showoff," Hiyori muttered.

Ken would have replied, but he was suddenly too busy deflecting Ichigo's sword with his arms. "Come on, man, don't make me hurt you!" Then Ichigo's Zanpakutou connected with the side of his head. "Ow. All right, maybe I'll hurt you a little bit."

"Why doesn't Ken just go intangible?" Mashiro asked. "Then Ichigo wouldn't even touch him."

"Ichigo is a creature of pure instinct now," Shinji said. "He'll eventually realize that he can't hurt Ken, so he'll try to escape the barrier and go after the people he _can _hurt; namely, us."

Ken ducked under another swing, then popped back up to deliver a wicked uppercut that sent Ichigo flying into the roof of the barrier. Before he landed, however, there was an increase in spiritual pressure, and then Ichigo's sword transformed into its Bankai state. Ken was then back on the defensive, as Ichigo was suddenly much faster. He was also starting to physically change; his mask was spreading further across his face, his feet now resembled talons, and a Hollow hole had appeared on his chest, with white hide spreading out from the hole.

Still, Ken was far from outmatched. As Ichigo tried to stab him, Ken leaned out of the way and grabbed his sword-arm.

"Sorry," Ken said, then hit Ichigo with as much electricity as he dared. Ichigo screamed and twitched as his nerves were shocked; Ken took the opportunity to lift him up, and then slammed him into the ground. He drew back his fist, but Ichigo reacted first, smashing Ken in the face with his own fist.

The fight went on and on. Every attack the two landed was either shaken off, or quickly healed. The upside, for Ken, was that because Ichigo could heal even faster than he could, he didn't have to hold back as much. Punches and kicks that would have shattered tempered steel rained down on Ichigo, and though the hits broke bones and made the room shake, Ichigo recovered in seconds.

_This must be how bad guys feel when they fight Swampfire, _Ken thought, then grimaced as one of Ichigo's injuries not only healed, but was covered in more white flesh. _But I don't think any of them had to deal with this._

"Hey, how's the time?" he asked as he blasted Ichigo with radiation.

"We're about forty minutes in!" Kensei called back.

"Already? Wow, time flies, huh?"

"Just stay focused," Kensei ordered. "He's not done transforming, and he'll only get stronger!"

Sure enough, Ichigo grew more and more bestial; his shoulders grew spikes, his fingers became claws, his hair grew down to his waist, and he even had a tail. He pointed his hand at Ken, and a red ball of energy gathered.

"Look out!" Lisa shouted. "That's a Cero!"

To the surprise of the Visored, Ken didn't try to avoid the Cero; in fact, he only grinned. Ichigo unleashed the attack, and the inside of the barrier was engulfed in fire and dust. When it cleared, Ken was still standing; in fact, he looked better than he had moments earlier!

"Did I forget to mention that I can absorb energy?" Ken looked over his shoulder at them and laughed. "Yep, I must have."

"Yeah, yeah, we're all impressed," Hiyori grumbled. "Just get back to fighting!"

Ken rolled his eyes. "Fine." He used his intangibility to walk through Ichigo, then turned and delivered a rapid one-two punch to his back. "Happy now?"

With Ichigo's Cero reenergizing him, Ken was doing much better; now it was Ichigo who was being forced back. Every time he swung his sword, Ken would shock the blade with lightning, stunning Ichigo for an instant, but long enough for Ken to blast him with fire, radiation, Mana, and an occasional sonic howl. The power-up didn't last long, but at least it bought Ichigo more time; Ken really didn't want the Visored to fight him and decide that he was too dangerous to live.

Finally, just as Ken had been knocked on his back by a vicious kick, something changed. Ichigo froze, and then cracks appeared over his body; blood spurted from the cracks, and then he began to scream.

"Kid, get out of there!" Shinji yelled.

Ken immediately jumped through the barrier again, and just in time, because it looked like Ichigo _had exploded_! The barrier kept them all from being hurt by the blast, but the explosion was still enough to make it collapse.

"Oh my god!" Ken was about to run back in, but Kensei and Lisa blocked his path. "Seriously? What is wrong with you people!?"

Kensei rolled his eyes. "Shut up and wait."

After a moment, the dust cleared, and Ken saw that Ichigo was still standing. However, he seemed 'empty', somehow; then his skin began to crack and fall away, until he had returned to his Soul Reaper form. He was hurt and covered in blood—all from injuries that hadn't come from Ken—and his face was covered by a skull-like mask, completely white on one side, and decorated with red stripes on the other. Ichigo then collapsed on the ground, and Ken had to check to make sure that he was still breathing; thankfully, he was.

"Did you know this was going to happen?" he asked, to no one in particular.

"We all went through the same thing," Shinji said nonchalantly, then lightly tapped Ichigo with his foot. "So, how do ya feel now?"

Ichigo weakly turned his head to look up, and then smirked. "Fine. Not bad at all."

Shinji smiled, and it was more genuine than anything Ken had seen before. "Very good. Now the real work begins." He looked over at Ken. "Ya wanna help out? Ya might be useful."

Ken grinned back. "Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you guys."

…

Across town, Professor Paradox glanced at his pocket watch, and then nodded at Secret. "How is he doing?"

"Secret." The little girl crossed her arms and glared.

"I know, but there is a limit to what we can do in these situations." Paradox sighed. "Well, he was able to make a few changes, and you know what they say about small stones and avalanches and whatnot. Perhaps those changes will strengthen them."

"Secret?"

"Don't worry, young Ken will be fine. His task here is almost done. There is only one more thing he needs to do to keep Ben safe. Well, as safe as I can hope." He closed his watch and put it away with a nod. "Come on, then; there's work to be done."

**Well, that was fun! Sorry if the exposition stuff was cut a little short, but since Ken isn't going to be here much longer, it felt like it would be a waste of time to tell the Bleach characters his life's story, so I glossed over it a bit. Besides, I don't have the patience to write that sort of thing via dialogue.**

**Bigby: Then why did you do it at all?**

**TIM: Because if someone showed up from out of nowhere to help me, I'd like to know a bit more about them before I offered my trust.**

**Also, I added that bit with Orihime because it bothered me how useless she became to… everything. Even the reason why she got kidnapped turned out to be a colossal red herring. For someone who's bound and determined to help her friends, she really doesn't do a lot of that. And for those of you who think she's not that physically strong, during the Soul Society arc, she took down two Soul Reapers, by herself, and using only martial arts. Soul Reapers are supposed to be stronger and tougher than the average Human, so… yeah.**

**Bigby: Okay, I think you proved your point. And, personally, I approve.**

**TIM: Really?**

**Bigby: Yeah. It bothered me that Orihime was tossed to the wayside so easily. Why bring her in, or at least give her powers, if she's barely going to do anything?**

**TIM: Glad to know I'm not alone. Anyway, on to the preview!**

**Next Chapter: Ken prepares for the next battle, only to be confronted by the one person he doesn't want to fight…**

**Bigby: Ominous.**

**TIM: It's meant to be. Muffin quote?**

**Bigby: Muffin quote.**

**We're gonna need a bigger Muffin.**


End file.
